


Falling Stars

by kaminikaku



Category: KAT-TUN (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-08
Updated: 2014-09-08
Packaged: 2018-02-16 15:54:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2275680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaminikaku/pseuds/kaminikaku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From all the available teams at the Kitagawa Stars corporation, Kazuya Kamenashi and Jin Akanishi are chosen to survey a newly discovered planet.  When disaster strikes, they are stranded together.  Can they work together, or does the planet have other ideas for them?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Falling Stars

**Title:** Falling Stars  
 **Pairing:** Akame  
 **Rating:** PG on the whole but with a hint up to M for some swearing and nudity  
 **Word Count:** 23200  
 **Warnings:** Attempted scifi comedy drama  
 **Author's Notes:** I watch a lot of scifi and I can string together fluent technobabble – but whether the babble would technically work I have no idea. So there are Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica etc etc references everywhere. They fly ships, they scan things to get information and generally... it's a scifi mishmash of all your favourite tropes. Sara I took your prompt and tied it into the space adventure with a little lesson, hopefully you will find it a little amusing.  
 **Summary:** From all the available teams at the Kitagawa Stars corporation, Kazuya Kamenashi and Jin Akanishi are chosen to survey a newly discovered planet. When disaster strikes, they are stranded together. Can they work together, or does the planet have other ideas for them?

 

**  
The rumours had been following them almost as long as they had been with the Kitagawa Stars company. 

“Kamenashi and Akanishi are never sent out together.”

“Separate teams for Kamenashi and Akanishi again! Has Julie ever put them together?”

“Akanishi is going out solo tomorrow, I bet that's burning Kamenashi.”

“Kamenashi and Akanishi don't work well together. Never have.”

“Did you see? Akanishi actually applauded when they named Kamenashi and Team Emerald as top earner this month?”

“Akanishi and Team Murasaki came out on top this month! Kamenashi will have to settle for second ranking.”

“Kamenashi congratulated Akanishi. Seriously, he went up and shook his hand.”

“Were they ever friends?”

“I don't know. It's weird though, Julie has never put them in the same team. Shouldn't they have been on the same team at some point? Everyone else has, right?”

“Weren't they friends once?

“Then what happened?”

“Yeah, why don't Kamenashi and Akanishi ever go out together?”

**

Silence falls over the assembled team members as Julie Kitagawa walks gracefully onto the stage and heads towards the podium. The sound of her heeled boots against the metal flooring is audible, a commanding sound of striking steel completely at odds with her appearance. She takes a moment to fluff the golden epaulettes lying on her shoulders; the black military style jacket slightly at odds with her short tartan skirt.

She looks out over crowd, checking that each team is grouped where she expects them to be. She may not quite be omnipotent, but there is nothing to stop her looking like it.

“Let's begin.” She presses a button on the podium and the wall behind her dissolves into a huge screen, showing star charts, lists and pie charts. “Last month was very successful for the company, we mapped five new planets, secured mining rights on three more, and cleared almost 500,000 tonnes of latinum ore. Most of that success can be attributed to tram members like you. Our teams here are among the best and brightest in the company and I am proud of you. Special thanks for our highest achieving teams: Four Leaves, JWest, TheyBudou and, as always, SMAP.”

She pauses, looks out over the crowd and waits for the applause to die down. Yes, hidden smiles there in the Four Leaves camp they are old enough to know better than to be openly proud, KKKitty grinning at each other and TheyBudou slapping each other on the back – their infectious enthusiasm will carry amusement from the others they will be allowed the reaction as it's their first time on the high achievers list. SMAP sit front and centre, Nakai impassively staring at Julie while Kimura smirks slightly. No one questions their place on the list, they are legendary.

“As always, if there are high achievers there are also those who disappoint. All member of the Kitagawa Stars company are required to pull their own weight. It has been decided that due to poor results the following groups will be disbanded, and their members assimilated into higher achieving teams. JWest, Hey Say Best, Hikaru Genji and KismyFT2 you will be immediately reassigned.”

No reaction – she has trained them well. Keep your game face impassive while you are performing. Hide the reaction. 

“I will also take this opportunity to remind you that collaboration is seen favourably by the company, but it must be approved. For that reason, Kanjani and Arashi are to be commended for working together to reduce company expenditure in the mapping of the planet is sector 2A, but I would remind them that approval is necessary before such action is taken.”

Ohno and Yokoyama share a look, then rise and smoothly bow, the low, straight formal bow of apology. 

Julie waits until they rise, and then nods, signalling her acceptance of their contrition. She waits as they sit, and then turns back to the screen. With a simple wave, she clears the material already there, and loads an entirely new set of data.

“Our plans for the next month are more of the same. We have contracts to complete weather mapping as well as higher resolution geological mapping of the planets from last month, we start mining operations as approved and we continue with the latinum ore shipping. There will be opportunities for you all to excel, there will definitely be opportunities for you to earn bonuses. Remember the financial cycle is almost over, and we will be submitting the appropriate reports next month. This is your last chance to improve your standing with the company before contract renewals.”

She leans forward to emphasise her words. “I have heard there will be team members cut. I have heard that no group is safe. We are doing well, but so are the other factions. Mary's faction is growing stronger each month – putting KAT-TUN in charge was a master stroke as it capitalises on Kusano and Nakamaru's senpai relationships they developed with the new trainees. Iijima has had unexpected success with Sexy Zone, although there is some customer backlash against the name. They are your competition. Their results will be measured against yours, and although I will argue to keep each and everyone of you, the final decision does lie, as it always has, with Johnny Kitagawa.”

The mood has definitely shifted towards sombre and reflective, although she needs them to realise the importance, she also needs them to take up the challenge. She smiles encouragingly. “I have confidence in all of you. We picked you to work for the company because you are all talented and can make a difference. I picked you because I saw you could be successful in my faction. Make me proud.”

She holds their gaze, smiling, and infusing the air between them with as much positive encouragement as she could muster. Here and there she sees the mood makers take up the challenge, and relaxes slightly, she has chosen them well after all. Her team members will pull together to do the best job that they can. 

Now for the bombshell.

The one thing that none of them will expect.

“One last thing. There is one more mission that needs to be discussed. Please remember that this is classified material, so any discussion can not leave this ship.” The screen behind her goes black and then a single star chart appears, rapidly expanding to fill the screen as the destination becomes clearer. A single planet, shining blue and white, situated near a star. “This is classified because we have a possible colonisation option. This planet has been identified as capable of supporting life.”

The murmur that runs through the teams causes her to pause.

“We have run as many diagnostics as we can from this distance, and our best data indicates that this is a green planet. The first one discovered in over twenty years. It is also on the extreme edge of our allotted survey area.”

“Where does it sit exactly?” Goro asks, and Julie looks down at him.

“Our best estimates is that it crosses between our survey area, Iijima's area and currently unapproved space.” She motions towards the screen, and the star chart is replaced by an orbital map, showing the path of the planet as it moves through space. “For the next three days it is clearly within our survey area.”

“How long until it returns to our survey area?” This time the question comes from Nakai.

“Almost nine weeks.” 

“So after the end of the current financial cycle.”

“Yes. That is why it is important that we find a way to stake a claim to this planet in our name. It will spend more time in Iijima's survey area, but if we get to it first, it counts as ours.”

“How long until we leave?” Nakai asks, standing up and gesturing for the other SMAP members to do so as well. “We can be ready to go in under an hour...”

“I'm not sending you.”

“What?” The word falls sharply into the silence of the room. 

“I'm not sending SMAP.”

Nakai stares at her. “We are the best team you have.”

“That may be so.” Julie nods, and looks pointedly at each member. “You are the highest achieving team I have, and you are the best known, and you will be missed if you are not seen on your usual routes. Please sit down.”

They share a glance between themselves, then sit, but their frustration is visible.

“I understand that you want to be part of this, and you will be. Please remember that we are all on the same side.” Julie takes a subtle breath; this is the point where everything may fail. If SMAP turn to Iijima then she's lost. Finally Nakai nods, and she exhales.

“This mission will be small, fast and dedicated. Small as in two members, fast as in I want you there and back in less than 2 weeks and dedicated in that your sole objective is to claim the planet for this group. The benefits will flow to all team members of this group but the actual mission will lie solely on the shoulders of the following two team members. For these reasons, I have made my choice, and mu choice is final and non negotiable.”

She waits, let's the tension build just enough to make it hum along the nerves of her audience. Normally she waited for them to give her answers, today she was relishing being the one to hold them on the edge of their seats.

“Kazuya Kamenashi. Jin Akanishi. Please meet me in my office in two minutes.”

Without another word, she bows and leaves the stage, the shocked silence broken only by the sound of her boots as she walks across the stage and towards the door. As the door slides shut behind her she hears pandemonium break out, and smirks. Sometimes it's good to be the boss.

**

Jin stares straight ahead as hands pat his shoulders, his arms, his back. His ears are ringing as everyone around him asks him questions, but he has no answers. He staggers to his feet, the only certain thing in his mind that he needs to be in Julie's office in less than 90 seconds.

Two rows away, Kame is enduring the same situation, although he is handling it with more aplomb than Jin, which is only to be expected. Jin has always known that Kame is the better performer, always ready with the right response and a smile that makes the other person melt.

Before he can move, Kame is pushing his way through the crowd between them, and Jin is frozen to the spot. Kame grins as he gets to him. “Akanishi, I'm looking forward to working with you.”

“Likewise,” Jin manages to mumble and return the smile that Kame throws at him. “Should we...” he stutters and gestures at the door.

“Of course.” Kame nods to the crowd surrounding them, and Jin belatedly follows suit. “We wouldn't want to be late.”

Jin turns towards the door, and feels his shoulder brush against Kame's as he does so. 

Kame stops him quickly, laying a … friendly... hand on his shoulder. “I'm really looking forward to working with you.” Kame's hand leaves his shoulder and extends towards him. 

Jin doesn't hesitate, extends his own, and grasps Kame's hand firmly. Into the sudden silence his own words fall even louder. “Me too. It will be good to work together again.” They shake hands, bow and together head towards the door, ignoring the growing tide of voices behind them, speculating on why they had been chosen, why they were being sent out and what did Jin mean by working together again.

They don't speak on the way to Julie's office. Jin sneaks glances at Kame's face, trying to guess from his expression what he is truly feeling, but the Kamenashi mask of professionalism has descended, and all he can see is a calm expression and a slight smile that grows warmer as passing people congratulate them. 

Their mission may be a secret but it seems that now everyone else on the ship is in on the secret.

As Jin sneaks another glance at Kame, he catches Kame's gaze resting on his own face. Kame quickly looks away, confirming Jin's guess that he was looking at him. Jin keeps looking at him until Kame turns back. 

“What” Kame asks with a raised eyebrow.

“You were looking at me.” Jin tilts his head to the side. 

“Just checking if you had gotten rid of that atrocious perm,” Kame says quickly, and Jin smothers a smile.

“All gone,” he says, and reaches up to flip his ponytail at Kame. “Back to straight and black.” He lets the ponytail fall back against his neck, then leans closer to examine Kame's hair. “Why do you have little bleached patches on the back of your head?”

“Not to name names, but Ikuta decided I needed a change and he caught me while I was napping on the return journey.”

“And he is still alive?”

“For now. I'm enjoying his contrite expression every time I walk onto the ship.”

The door to Julie's office is clearly marked, and unlike most of the others on the ship, will not open automatically.

“State your name, rank and purpose,” the ship computer asks.

“Kamenashi, Emerald Team Leader, mission briefing.”

“Akanishi, Murasaki Team Leader, mission briefing.”

“Approved.” The door lock glows green briefly and the door slides open.

“Punctual,” Julie says, as they enter. She doesn't move away from the porthole, enjoying the stillness of the view outside. She has dimmed the lights, and the distant glow of a supernova casts an orange light over the room. “I see that has changed.”

Kamenashi and Akanishi glance at each other, decide the safest course is to say nothing compromising, and stay by the door, silently.

“I suppose you want to know why I chose you two?”

“And what the mission entails?”

“And how much you can expect to earn?”

Finally she turns. “What are you standing over there for? This is a company, not an army. You don't need to wait for a direct order. Sit down.”

They move towards the chairs sitting in front of her desk, and she sits down herself, crossing her legs carefully and tucking the plaid skirt under her thighs.

“What do you want to discuss first?”

“The mission,” Kame and Jin answer in unison.

“Fine.” She pushes two computer tablets towards them. “All the background information you will need is on these. They are the only copies, so please don't share them with others or lose them.” 

Kame and Jin reach forward and as they pick them up, both tablets start to glow blue. “They are keyed to respond only to your DNA.”

“I wanted the tall one!” a sulky voice says, and Kame almost drops his tablet.

“Too bad, so sad, he chose me!” a taunting voice drawls in response, and Jin's reflexes are just good enough to catch the tablet before it hits the floor.

“I should also mention those tablets are preloaded with the latest artificial intelligence system we have developed.” Julie points at Kame's tablet. “That is Pi.” She switches to Jin's tablet. “That is Ryo. Together we call them RyoPi, and they are designed to work as a unit. Both are functionally independent, but exist in a closed loop, constantly sharing information and experiences. They are designed to augment your on board computers, so I would appreciate your feedback on how they perform.” She pauses and waves her hands in the air, until Jin nudges Kame to look over as well. Julie holds up a small whiteboard. 'They think they are human. Please treat them as real people.'

Kame prods gently at his tablet. “Nice to meet you, Pi. I'm looking forward to working with you.”

Pi grunts in response, then mutters, “Nice to meet you.”

Before Jin can do the same, Ryo says, “Whassup?” 

Jin stares, then grins down at the tablet. “Just chillaxing man. Yourself?”

“Can't complain. Looking forward to working with ya.”

“Now that's out of the way,” Julie says sweetly, drawing their attention back to her. “About the mission. As I said, this is a green planet. All of our data is showing there is a multilayer atmosphere, a fully functioning weather system, and continental masses that show both vegetation and most importantly water.”

“You can tell all that from the scout probes?” Jin asks in surprise.

“Yes and no. Some of that is extrapolated from the data we have.”

“What exactly can you tell from the scout probes, without the extrapolation?” Kame asks quietly. “And what information do you need us to bring back?”

“The scout probes show evidence of volcanic activity, which should have formed continental land masses that should house both vegetation and water. As you saw from the photo, the presence of blue on the surface suggests massive water deposits and the white cloud cover suggests a weather system.”

Jin and Kame share a look. “So... the data is not conclusive....” Jin let's the sentence trail off into a suggestion.

“Of course not, that's why I am sending you two out there!”

“And you want us to confirm the data that you already have.” As always, Kame sees right to the heart of the matter.

“I am sure your observations will match our extrapolations.”

“And if they don't?” Jin stares, he knows he is not as good at playing the game as Kame is but this time he wants to be sure. No grey areas.

“They will. This is a green planet, it will be recorded in our survey area and we will include it in next month's report. Are we clear?”

“As crystal,” Kame nods, and nudges Jin, who thinks for a moment, runs a mental check-list to make sure there is nothing that could come back to bite him if he forgets....

“What tests do you want us to run?”

“Excuse me?” 

“What tests do you want us to run?” Jin repeats the question. “Standard survey patterns won't necessarily pick up all the data you want. Do you want us to follow the green planet protocols, or do you want us to run a.....pre-approved list of tests that support your current data?” He mentally congratulates himself for asking that question in a way that covers his ass and makes him look capable of management speak.

Julie narrows her eyes as she considers his question. “Follow the green planet protocols as far as possible. Where as far as possible means that it supports the data. If there is a conflict between the protocols and the test results, collate the test results in support of our data and return early due to … fuel concerns.”

“We understand,” Kame says and Jin nods in agreement. With everything on the page spelled out there is no room for uncertainty. “When do we leave?”

Julie checks her wristwatch. “In forty minutes. Akanishi you are assigned to the shuttle _Dreamcatcher_ and Kamenashi you will pilot the escort fighter _Starry_. You have been given supplies for fourteen days, and enough fuel for the return trip. RyoPi can brief you on all the background information during your outbound flight. Do you require anything else?” Her tone makes it very clear that the answer to her question should be of course not.

Before Kame can stand and finish the conversation, Jin blurts out, “What reward level is this mission?”

Kame stiffens beside him, but Jin has learned the hard way that financial matters are best sorted before the mission. 

“More than enough to make it worth your while,” Julie replies easily, a cold smile curling her lips.

“And worth while for the company,” Jin says quietly, then fixes his gaze on hers. “You said that the entire faction will benefit from this mission?”

“Of course. You are undertaking the mission as faction members in our name.”

“That's fine.” Jin nods. “Yet as the ones undertaking the mission, we are the ones at risk, and I expect that we are entitled to a larger … portion if we are responsible for our team members.”

“Now is not the time to bargain for a raise...” Julie starts, and is shocked when Kame interrupts her.

“I don't believe that is what Jin is asking for.”

“It's not?” Julie stares. “Then what do you want?”

“I know we will get a fair financial share of the mission rewards,” Jin says firmly. “I want something else for our teams.”

“What?”

“I want to be involved in any discussions regarding changing team members.”

“Team membership is under my purview.”

“Yes, and I'm not arguing that I want final say.” Jin clenches his fists, and takes a deep breath. He only has one chance for this. “As Team Leader, I just want to be involved in the discussion. It's not good for team morale for the team to discover in your briefings that everything they have worked for has been judged unworthy.”

Julie taps her fingers on her desk, the clacking sound reminiscent of her boots. “Discussion... I will allow. The final say will remain with me.”

“All Team Leaders,” Kame says sweetly, with a soft smile. “All teams will benefit from that arrangement, and you wouldn't want some of the older teams such as SMAP to start claiming favouritism. You can announce it at your next general briefing, unless of course you want to make changes to any of the groups.”

Jin keeps his eyes on Julie, doesn't dare to turn and look at Kame even though he wants to. Kame is pushing Julie even further than he dared to dream.

“Fine,” Julie growls. “All Team leaders.”

“Excellent,” Kame says and stands. “I believe Jin and I should check our ships before we leave. Jin?”

Jin stares for a moment at Kame, realising that they are actually going on a mission. Together.

“Of course.” Jin nods and rises to his feet; in unison they bow in farewell.

“Bring me back that confirmation.” Julie stays seated, and watches them leave. As the door closes behind them, she whispers, “You don't know how desperately we need this one. Without it our faction is finished. Bring it home to me, boys.”

**  
“ _Dreamcatcher_ , standing by.” Jin flexes his fingers, heavy gloves harsh against his palms as he braces himself against the dash. This is the part he hates the most. If he could possibly do his job without ever having to physically do this again, he would make that change. Immediately. With no care for what other people thought.

“Acknowledge, _Dreamcatcher_. Prepare for launch. On my mark, 3, 2, 1, Mark! Go.”

The artificial gravity couplers retract, and for those first few seconds Jin feels that familiar feeling of terror as his stomach drops and his head screams at him that he is falling... falling away from the ship, away from safety, into the empty vastness of space.

It doesn't matter how many times he launches, or even whether it's in a simulator or a real ship. Every time, the centre of his brain which tells him which way is up and which way is down, the part that flags danger or safety, stands up and screams at him that he is going to die. It doesn't matter how many times the science is explained to him, the biology, the physics, the reality versus what his brain is telling him. In those first few seconds his brain always wins.

He is falling and he is going to die.

He's going to drop endlessly through space with nothing to stop his fall.

At least he doesn't scream any more. He can thank Kame for that. Kame and his stupid baseball; he can still hear the thump of the baseball against the simulator door window and Kame's grinning face behind it, distracting him until he could grit his teeth and stay silent through the drop. 

Against th regulations e, his eyes close and he holds his breath, waiting for the thrusters to engage and the cascade of tones from RyoPi to tell him that his ship is moving away from the _Sorafune_.

The seconds tick by and his stomach starts to roil, it's taking too long, too long, he's falling –

The seatbelt pulls hard against his chest as the thrusters kick in, but there's no tones. Where are the tones? His eyes snap open as he checks his heading. Something must have gone wrong...

“Akanishi. Adjust your heading by 2.34 degrees.” Kamenashi's voice is calm in his ears, and Jin's fingers make the necessary adjustments before his brain double checks the numbers.

“How could you tell?”

“Your shadow was off. I saw it cross the _Sorafune_ at the wrong angle.”

“And here I thought it might have been due to our fancy new AI system,” Jin jokes only to be met with a burst of static ringing through the comms system.

“I had made that communication private,” Ryo says. “Next time I'll keep the channel open so everyone knows you can't enter numbers into the on board flight computer correctly.”

Jin winces as Kame and Pi both laugh, and Ryo gleefully turns up the volume. Just in case he had missed it.

“Yeah, yeah, really funny. Can we get to work please?” Jin grouses.

“Coordinates are correctly entered, and we are locked on. Ready to jump?” Kame asks, traces of laughter still evident in his voice.

“Ready,” Jin huffs. “On my mark. Three, Two, One. Mark!”

Before them two jump ports open, huge star lined tunnels that will grant them access to hyperspace and within a fraction of a second, both ships are swallowed up and disappear.

**

“Are we there yet?”

Kame jumps in his seat, a fairly spectacular achievement as he is strapped into a fighter escort ship at the time. “What?” he barks in response.

“I asked if we are there yet.” 

“No.”

“How much longer?”

Pi's voice sounds muffled in his ears, very different from the way it sounded as RyoPi had briefed them for hours and hours on green planet protocols, green planet testing, green planet surveys. It was only after the first hour that Kame had realised that everything Pi said in his ship was being repeated verbatim in Jin's ship. So when he had suggested that they link the communication systems of the two ships, to share the briefing and cut down on question time, Jin had readily agreed. RyoPi had seized the opportunity to make it into a pop quiz, and Kame had soon learnt that Jin was just as competitive as a grown man as he had been as a sixteen year old boy. He was no stranger to the win at all costs mentality himself, but to hear the way Jin took on board the information given by the AI and then have it at his fingertips to respond was impressive. Kame secretly thought that Pi had started to feed him easier questions in some show of assigned loyalty, but Ryo had soon put a stop to that... wait.

“Aren't you the one who is directly plugged into the flight navigation system?”

“So you want me to do all the work?”

Kame pauses, searches for a reply, and finally settles on, “Yes.”

“Typical.”

Kame waits, assuming that Pi is actually making the calculations while Ryo and Jin snicker in the background.

“Thirty six minutes.”

“What?” Kame looks in horror at his guidance system. “We have a pre-arrival protocol that takes us two hours to complete!”

“Then you should have told me that you wanted me to do that. I am not a mind reader.”

“Just artificially intelligent,” Kame snaps, as over in the _Dreamcatcher_ , Jin is scrolling through his own check-list which Ryo is helpfully bundling into cross-checked item lists.

“I think we will be all right,” Jin says. “Ryo is showing me what checks he has been running in the background, and Pi has been doing similar checks. We should be fine.”

“Show me.”

Ryo sends the data to Pi, who grudgingly shows it to Kame, who acknowledges with a small humph that indeed some of the more boring mechanical checks have indeed been made.

“With thirty minutes we have enough time to run the major checks manually, do you want to?” Jin asks.

“Of course. Start with the fuel reserve calculations?”

“On it,” Jin replies, and Ryo helpfully highlights the numbers he needs.

They work steadily, running through the check-lists that have been drilled into them since their early days with the company. Although this is the first time they are on a survey mission together they fall into sync rapidly, completing each others statements, providing numbers as needed, working smoothly. RyoPi is definitely helping the task move faster, highlighting information as needed, bringing up the next step quickly, silently supporting them.

“Ready?” Kame asks finally.

“Confirm,” Jin replies and their silent support system glows green briefly in agreement.

“Let's do it,” Kame says. “I'll go in first as usual to scout ahead, you follow me in on a shadow vector.”

“Got it. I'll be right behind you.”

“Ok. On my mark, Three, Two, One, Mark!”

The stars around them burn yellow, then orange, before suddenly snapping back to distant white pinpricks of light as they drop from hyperspace to normal space. Jin quickly pulls the _Dreamcatcher_ in behind Kame's ship. The _Starry_ is much smaller and definitely more mobile than his own ship, so it makes sense for the _Starry_ to go first. He looks out ahead of them and sees the planet, and for a moment his breath catches. It is so different to the other planets they see – even at this distance he can see why Julie is so convinced they have found a green planet, finally. It's beautiful, a huge round orb standing silently in the darkness, but this planet definitely has an atmosphere, he can see the swirls of white clouds and beneath it the sapphire blue of water. It's stunning, and for a moment he's overcome by a strong wave of homesickness for a planet he has not seen in years.

“We have a problem,” Kame interrupts, tense, voice harsh and Jin drags his attention back to the _Starry_ which is glowing gold in patches... what the hell? Before he can ask, Ryo is scanning the skies around them, and Kame is confirming it. “We are caught in a meteoroid shower, Pi can't map the edges so we can't get out easily.”

“At least fifteen minutes before the engines recharge enough to jump away.” Jin grimly checks the map that RyoPi is creating. “This thing is vast. Will the shields hold?”

“I think so?” Kame guesses, “Your ones should more than mine, maybe. I'm seeing mainly small fields of debris, but there are thicker patches coming up, and who knows how dense they will be.”

“Taking manual control,” Jin says, over the objections of Ryo who flashes angry red text at him advising against it. “No matter how intelligent you are RyoPi, I have more years flying experience than you have creation, so give it over.” Ryo complies, but keeps the text red, as silent testimony to his disagreement. In front of him, Kame wins the same argument against Pi, Jin can tell by the way his wing tips dip slightly as Kame tests them.

“Prepare for evasive manoeuvre’s,” Kame says, and Jin confirms, as RyoPi flash a proximity warning to them.

The shower increases, this time instead of the gentle fizzle of the rocks disintegrating against the shield, Kame can hear the patter of them striking the metal hull of the ship. “Increase power to the forward shields,” he commands, and Pi complies. 

“That leaves the underside of the ship exposed,” Pi warns, and Kame nods.

“I know, but most of the danger is in front of and above us, not below.” Kame risks a quick glance down, and mutters under his breath... I hope.

“It's getting denser.” Jin double checks the data as it scrolls. “Kame, I think you should move into shadow position.”

“Is it really going to get that bad? I don't think it's that dense?”

“We can't tell how long this will last, and the _Dreamcatcher_ shields will not hold for much longer if we get into trouble.”

RyoPi remain silent as Kame considers, but he does see the small note that Pi flashes at him in green text. It reads, 'accurate summation of situation'.

“Ok,” Kame finally agrees, and Jin lets out a quiet breath in relief. “I'm dropping back now, will shelter underneath you as a shadow.”

“Understood.” Jin waits and watches as Kame carefully throttles back then lets the craft drop gently, descending so that he can slide under him. 

“Ten minutes until we can jump.”

“We can't jump back before we do the survey,” Kame argues.

“What do you want to do? Get out of here, and then plot a course closer to the planet? They said this was the optimal jump point, and you see how well that is working out.”

“We can't go back without the survey.”

“Julie can just fake the results so that they match whatever her extrapolated report results are anyway.”

“She needs more raw data for that, and you know it.”

“So we risk our lives to jump closer?”

“Face the truth Akanishi, you risk your life every day for the company, for a lot less.”

“Oh Fuck.”

“You know I'm right.”

“Shut up, I'm not talking about that. Check the scanner.”

“Fuck.”

“Exactly.”

Visible even to the naked eye, this asteroid is huge. It's tumbling towards them, rolling on its own axis and it's so massive they can see craters on it's surface where other smaller metoroids have struck it and been pulverised into dust. RyoPi start listing details as the scanner moves over it, “Composition high in carbon and silicon. No olivine rock detected. No iron core detected. Currently at temping to estimate diameter.”

“One kilometre?” Jin guesses, as Kame simultaneous says “0.6 of a mile.”

“Big,” RyoPi settles on.

“Will it pass under us?” Kame asks, mouth drawn tight and fingers curled in his gloves as the asteroid rolls nearer.

“No.” RyoPi is certain of that.

“Over or under?” Jin asks.

“No,” RyoPi replies before Kame can, and throws a tentative diagram of the asteroid onto the navigation screen. 

“That's the edge?” Kame gapes at the diagram, as Jin lets out a low whistle.

“The asteroid size is interfering with mapping capabilities.”

“Find the closest edge, we are going to have to blast our way clear.” Kame snaps the covers open on the weapon system. 

“Top right hand corner?” Jin suggests, looking at the jagged crater while RyoPi scan the surface frantically.

“Sounds like a plan.” Kame initiates the weapons drive, happy to hear the familiar energy whine as they come on line.

“Thirteen percent probability that current weapons load will not destroy enough surface area,” Pi says.

Kame briefly considers ways in which he could kick Pi without destroying company property. “And 87 percent chance it will work. Jin? You don't happen to have a surprise cache of weapons I don't know about?”

“Sorry. No weapons on board here unless you count the meal rations.”

Snorting, Kame double checks the firing solution that Pi is showing him. “Let's do it. Stay close.”

“Right behind you.”

Kame pulls forward, the _Starry_ sliding ahead of the _Dreamcatcher_ and angling up and to the right. Behind him, Jin waits, and then turns his own ship to climb behind him. The silence is tense between them, Kame's concentration is absolute, and even RyoPi do not dare to speak. “Engaging,” Kame barks, and opens fire, blasting a small portion of the asteroid into dust.

“Come on, come on, come on....” Jin chants under his breath as the _Dreamcatcher_ looms behind the _Starry_ , staying close but watching as the distance between them and the asteroid grows smaller and smaller. Too close and he might crush the _Starry_ against the asteroid, too far and he'll not make it over.

“Status update?” Kame demands into sudden quiet as the last laser burst of the weapon discharges.

….

“Update!”

“Unsuccessful. The area is two metres too high.” Ryo's voice echoes in both ships. “Confirmed,” Pi agrees quietly.

“Fuck.” Kame closes his eyes, then licks his lips. “Put all available power into the forward hull shields. Everything. Life support, navigation, everything.”

“Kame! What are you doing?” Jin asks sharply, a sickening realisation growing in his stomach.

“One of us has to complete the mission, this is the only chance. Pi, show me the weakest point. We only need to shift it a few metres. Brace for impact.”

“Don't! Kame! Don't!” Jin yells frantically as he watches in horror as Kame heads directly into the path of the asteroid.

“He has a sixty three percent chance of surviving the impact if he can hit the weak area Pi found.” Ryo's voice is quiet in his ears, obviously speaking only to Jin, but Jin can't take any comfort in the words, not when Kame is heading towards a fucking huge wall of rock...

“Impact in three, two, one!” Pi's voice echoes in both ships, and is replaced by a terrible screeching groan, as the metal hull of the _Starry_ drags across the surface of the asteroid.

“Kazuya!” Jin roars into the comms system as he watches the _Starry_ break free from the asteroid, and spin over the edge. Without conscious thought, he pushes the _Dreamcatcher_ 's engines hard, forcing the ship into a steep climb. Arms taut as he keeps the pressure on the engines, he watches the side of the asteroid loom closer and closer, until at the last moment it falls away beneath him. Kame has done it, shifted it just enough to allow him to clear it.

“Find him.” Jin steers frantically around the larger meteoroids on the other side, lets the smaller ones burn against his shields while his eyes frantically scan the horizon looking for Kame.

“Got him!” Jin yells at Ryo, pushing the _Dreamcatcher_ towards the _Starry_ , barely registering that the meteoroid shower was lessening. “Kame!”

***

The alarms are screaming at him now, multiple failures, multiple dangers, and as fast as he can deal with one, another appears to take it's place. Pi is starting to override his fixes, correcting them as they fail, and he can't keep up with it any more. The _Starry_ stabilises, stops spinning finally, and he glances up through his view screen and the planet is huge beneath him, blocking out the blackness of space. He's cleared the meteoroid shower at least... 

The alarms abruptly stop, as Pi's voice; calm, flat and unemotional speaks to him, the words searing across his skin like ice.

“Reserve power sources exhausted. Engine core unresponsive. Expected cell core failure in three minutes. Immediate evacuation recommended.”

He takes a deep shuddering breath as he realises that he's caught in the gravity well of the planet. 

There is nothing he can do.

He is going to die.

Either the ship around him will burn up as he enters the atmosphere of the planet, or the engine core will fail and kill him in the explosion.

He is completely out of options.

**

Jin runs the scans again, just to confirm. He hails Kame one more time, but there is still no response.

“Expected engine cell core failure in _Starry_ in two minutes. Recommend immediate evacuation of all pilots.”

“Thanks, will you shut up now,” Jin snaps at Ryo. “Sorry,” he mutters a moment later.

“Apology accepted.”

Jin widens the search, searching for help, something, anything, but there is nothing there. Of course there isn't, it's not even a catalogued for development system, they are on the edge of the survey area and he and Kame are the only intelligent life for half a parsec. No one is out there to help them. They have to handle this on their own.

Somehow.

“Kamenashi, would you please fucking respond?”

“It's over.”

That was not the response that Jin had been hoping for.

“Shut up, you have two minutes. Do something.”

“Can't. The engine is unresponsive and will turn critical in 90 seconds. I'm caught in the gravity well of the planet. Whatever happens, this ship is not going to exist in 3 minutes time.” 

Jin stares across the empty space between them, at the little glimmer of metal against the vastness of the planet. “There has to be something.”

“There's nothing. I'm sending you all the information from this mission so far, Pi and some private files as well. When you get back to the Sorafune, please send them on my behalf.”

“Kame...”

“It's been an honour working with you Akanishi.”

“Kame -”

“Goodbye.”

“No.”

“I don't think you actually have a choice here.” The snarky tone is familiar, and catches Jin low in his gut. 

“It can't end like this.”

“Again, I don't think this is your call. 60 seconds. Make sure you stay clear of any blast -”

“HALO!”

“What?”

“HALO!” Jin's voice is frantic, demanding that Kame pay attention. Pi helpfully pulls up files for him on the computer screen, and starts calculations.

“What do you-”

“Listen!” Jin says firmly, and Kame stops talking. “HALO Jump. High Altitude Low Opening Jump. Like they used to explore Mars. Remember we studied it in basic training. If you jump now, you'll make it.”

“What?” Kame whispers.

“It's a risk, but the calculations show you have a 40% chance of making landfall safely. These ejection seats have better parachute operations, so they should slow your descent enough. Just remember you need to cut the seat loose as you pass 50,000 feet and freefall before you engage the secondary parachute. There is an automatic activation device for the secondary parachute – set the altimeter to open it as you pass 10,000 feet.”

“Better odds than staying in the ship.” Kame glances back at the planet. “Of course, who knows what's down there.”

“Can't be worse than a cell core explosion, right?” Jin says brightly, and Kame snorts in response.

“If I survive the jump... against the odds...” Kame buckles the straps securely across his chest, making sure that they press him firmly into his seat. “When does the computer say to jump?”

“Twenty seconds.”

“Ok. I've sent Pi and the files. Hold onto them for me.” Kame checks his helmet is secure, that the oxygen is flowing and pulls down the reflector visor.

“Activate your locator beacon.” 

Kame taps his left forearm; reassuring warmth as the battery springs to life. “Activated. Tell them where to find me.”

“I'll be watching. I'll know where to find you.”

“You need to get back to the Sorafune.”

“I'll be watching.”

“Do you have to be so stubborn? You are burning fuel you can't afford to lose, there may even be more meteoroids up ahead, and...”

“If you think I am going to jump away, and leave you here alone as you attempt to make landfall via a HALO jump, you are an idiot. And wrong. Five seconds.”

Kame takes two deep breaths. “Jin.”

“I'll be watching. I'll find you. Stay safe. On my Mark. Three. Two. One. Jump.”

Kame hits the ejection system. The craft around him shudders as the roof retracts above. Blackness above him, no stars, just empty sky around him and the planet below and then he's thrown from the ship, out into the blackness.

“Kazuya!” Jin hopes for a response, even though he knows logically that the communication system is lost when Kame ejects. The locator beacon is working, tracking green on his computer display as Kame arcs away from the ship and streaks across the sky. Step one is successful, he makes it out of the ship and into descending orbit. He disappears from view, but the green beacon keeps pulsing.

As long as that beacon pulses, he is tied to Kame. He will find him.

“Emergency alert. Observed cell core breach imminent. Evacuate to a safe distance.” Fuck, he had forgotten the other problem they had. Kame's ship was still going to explode even if Kame was no longer on board.

“Take us out of range,” he orders Ryo, his attention fixed on tracking the beacon.

“Insufficient fuel reserves.”

“What?” His head snaps up.

“That final climb drained unexpected amounts of fuel, and the meteoroids damaged the fuel reserves. There is insufficient fuel to take us out of range.”

“And you tell me this now?” Jin yells. “Give me manual control of the ship.” The dashboard in front of him suddenly shimmers into life. “We are going to follow Kame down, do not lose his locator beacon.”

“Insufficient fuel reserves to make landfall.”

“You are joking.”

…... “No.”

“Right,” Jin swears and locks his attention onto Kame's locator beacon. “If I have to turn this thing into a giant glider, we are following Kame down, and we will find him. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Ryo answers and begins rerouting as much power as he can to the engines and shields. “We follow Kame down and we land.”

“Exactly.” Jin grits his teeth and tries not to think too hard about what he has to do. “We land. Somehow.”

**

Kame lies on the water's edge, and takes a moment. Just a moment because he knows he needs to get up and keep moving, but he needs a moment. Maybe two.

He survived the HALO jump against the odds. The sensation of freefalling for so long is not something he ever wants to repeat, and if he doesn't end up terrified of heights now, he can't imagine anything that will ever terrify him again. There is something wrong with being able to fall so far so fast, to see the curve of the planet and then feel the gravity catch you, reel you in and pull you down. A primal part of his brain screamed at him all the way down, telling him he was going to die. Less than helpful but it had kept him focussed on the steps. He doesn't think he lost consciousness, or if he did, he came good in enough time to make sure the secondary parachute initiated properly.

He really wants a drink.

Maybe two. 

Just after the secondary parachute deployed he had realised the one thing that he was missing. Proper freefall boots. Instead he just had his usual flight boots. Luckily there hadn't been enough time for him to really worry about it, as there was nothing he could do.

He had been very lucky to make it down. At the end, he had hit water. No choice, he had been too high to try and drop onto land, and in the back of his mind he had wondered if the water was a better option given his lack of proper boots.

Given how numb his legs currently are, he isn't sure that was the best decision ever, but at least he can feel how numb they are. He can move his feet. Slowly. Walking is something he can attempt in the future, but right now he still needs his moment.

To savour the fact that he is alive.

And relatively uninjured.

Numb feet and legs is understandable, but the dislocated shoulder is going to be a problem. Hitting the water had been like hitting concrete, hard and unyielding and then suddenly he was under the surface and fighting his way back to the top. Apart from the momentary panic when he realised he needed to cut himself free from the parachute, everything had gone to plan, and then the waves had caught hold of the parachute and dragged him under again, twisting his shoulder the wrong way as he fought to cut the cords.

So laying here on the edge of the water, fine golden sand under him, with numb heavy legs and a dislocated shoulder seemed a reasonable state to be in given how bad things had looked less than half an hour ago.

With a lot of effort, Kame rolls onto his good side and flips over onto his back. Drowning after all of that would be a waste. Time to start thinking about survival. Shelter, food.... all he has is his flight suit. This could be a challenge.

The sky above him is a deep blue, with wispy white clouds. Temperature seems to be relatively warm, if he had to guess he would say that it's maybe spring? The breeze is warm and the air isn't humid. No rain clouds, although there does seem to be a little grey cloud over on the horizon...

Wait.

No.

No.

No.

It has to be a cloud.

Surely he wouldn't be stupid enough to... and the _Dreamcatcher_ is a survey ship, even if he could safely land there is no way there is enough thrust in the engines for them to break free of the gravity well, and make it back into orbit.

He is just checking. Like he promised. Yes, that would be it. Jin is just checking that he is alive, noting where the locator beacon had landed so they could send a proper rescue ship to retrieve him.

He was losing height. He doesn't need to do that. The ship could tag the beacon from a reasonable distance, he doesn't need to come in that low.

He can't hear the engines. What is Jin doing, he should be able to hear engines from this distance, especially given how low Jin is flying...

Kame struggles to his feet, tries to hold his arm steady, as the wave of pain almost makes him pass out. The beach is long, golden sand as far as he can see in both directions, and sand dunes leading up from the beach. Palm trees. Mountains in the distance.... where did Jin think he is going to land... 

Kame shivers slightly as the _Dreamcatcher_ passes overhead, it's dead silent and it shouldn't be. He has no engines, no way to slow descent, or manoeuvre. Jin is tying to glide a survey ship into sand dunes. That is crazy.

Almost as crazy as making a HALO jump onto an unexplored planet.

He holds his breath, Jin's losing height rapidly, struggling to keep the nose of the craft up as long as possible. Kame starts to stagger forward, to follow the plane's path.

With a muffled crash, the _Dreamcatcher_ lands on the sand dunes and ploughs ahead, sand thrown high into the air around it as it slides forward, with nothing to stop it's progress.

“Hold on!” Kame yells and tries to run after it, but even his best running effort is only a slow stagger.

The _Dreamcatcher_ turns slightly, with the right side now taking the brunt of the landing as the sand slides under and around it. Kame can't believe it, it's somehow sitting more on top of the dunes than under them. That...should not have been possible.

It was apparently a day for making the impossible, possible.

The _Dreamcatcher_ stops, poised delicately on the crest of a sand dune, and then with a muffled thump the dunes directly underneath it collapse under the weight. Sand rains down around the wings, covering them and pinning the ship to the ground, but Kame can see the hull is intact. Somehow.

Kame staggers closer, the sand shifting under him just as easily as it did under the _Dreamcatcher_. He sinks to his knees, but keeps moving forward as much as he can, as quickly as he can. It's hard going, his lungs are burning with the effort and his feet feel heavier than iron anvils... he can't get them free, just pushes forward.

Suddenly he can hear thumps from within the _Dreamcatcher_ , and then the bay door opens, manually pushed open from the inside. Jin's face appears in the gloom, blood trickling down his cheek, but he is breathing.

“Jin!” Kame yells at him, as loud as he can, but it's more like the plaintive meowing of a tiny kitten seeking attention. 

Jin has turned away, he's pushing the door open as wide as he can, and now he's jumping down into the sand – how stupid can he be, obviously he is going to sink. Kame tries yelling his name again, but Jin doesn't respond. Instead his entire attention is focussed on his hands, he is clutching something and scanning the surrounding area...

Jin looks up and their gazes lock. 

“Kazuya!”

Jin tosses the scanner back behind him into the ship and starts wading through the sand to get to him. He's grinning and he doesn't seem to be hurt badly, even though there is that blood on his cheek, and he's here. He's really here. 

With a final rush of cascading sand, Jin arrives at his side.

“You made it! You made it!” Jin laughs and Kame can feel the muscles in his own face pulled taut from the strength of his smile. “I saw the locator beacon and I hoped that everything was ok, but I didn't think it would be this easy to find you!” Jin reaches out to grab his shoulder. Kame doesn't even register the full wave of searing pain that hits him, he just collapses at Jin's feet. 

***

When Kame opens his eyes, the light is different, brighter if that were possible, there are palm tree fronds blowing in the breeze overhead and his shoulder aches with a dull throb rather than the burning fire of earlier. He's lying down, and something cool is resting on his forehead... he reaches up gingerly and his fingers touch damp cotton.

“Hey,” Jin says, and Kame's eyes shift to his left, and find Jin's concerned face. “You're awake.”

“Yeah,” Kame wheezes, and his tongue slips quickly across his lips. His mouth is so dry – but before he can ask, Jin is kneeling beside him and slipping an arm under him, supporting his shoulders so he can sit up.

“Drink this,” Jin says, and tilts the bottle slowly, allowing the water to trickle slowly enough for Kame to drink without sputtering. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I crash landed on a planet.”

Jin's eyes crinkle in amusement. “Technically I think that was me,” he teases. “You jumped out of an exploding ship.” He watches carefully as Kame shifts gingerly. 

“No flight suit?” Kame asks. “My shoulder?”

“I got you out of your flight suit before I fixed your shoulder.” He lays a gentle hand against it, and Kame automatically tenses in anticipation of the pain. “It wasn't a serious dislocation, I just needed to rotate the shoulder back into position.”

“Thanks,” Kame reaches up to touch the shoulder in question. “When I hit the water, the parachute started to get tangled and sink and I wrenched my shoulder cutting the cords.”

“Must have hurt.”

“Yeah it did. It was ok when I wasn't moving.”

“When I... I had to brace your shoulder to rotate it back, and when I touched it you yelled at me.”

“I did?”

“Yeah. I thought you were unconscious, and when you yelled you scared the hell out of me.”

“That's weird. Sorry.”

Jin shrugs, and admits, “I kind of screamed myself. Really loudly. So when you were still unconscious afterwards, I thought that the best idea was to fix your shoulder as quickly as possible, because if you hadn't woken up with me screaming either, maybe it was a reflex thing.”

“Possibly,” Kame says in a puzzled tone. “I haven't ever heard of someone doing it in real life though. Weird.”

“I think it's the only damage. I ran the medical bot over you after I fixed your shoulder, and you seem to be in good shape. Better than I was expecting to be honest. You've got some bruising to your legs, but no spinal injuries. Even with the shock, your blood work seemed ok, and your heart and lungs weren't damaged. You got lucky that the _Starry_ had a good oxygen supply, so most of the nitrogen that could have been in your system was gone. I didn't want to mention that Ryo said getting the bends was a possible danger, because... well.”

“Not likely to have a pressurised hyperbaric chamber anywhere down here.” Kame snorts. “To be honest that would have been the least of my worries though, I was more worried about committing to hitting the ejection switch.”

“Still, it's amazing that you made it through the jump, and nothing went wrong. I mean, you landed in water, you got the parachute cords cut, you made it to shore, and then you walked to where I landed. Not many people would have managed that.”

Kame closes his eyes. “I guess I didn't think about it too much. Just kept reacting to the next step, doing what needed to be done. Even so, if you weren't here to fix my shoulder I would be a lot worse off. Not to mention, no supplies.”

“Yeah. Most previous HALO jumps were to resourced areas.”

“And who knows what we will find here.”

“I've been running some tests. Obviously the air is fine to breathe, and from what the initial scans I've run for water, minerals and vegetation are showing, they are within normal parameters too. I think Julie is right, it's a green planet.”

“Lucky for us,” Kame nods and slowly lowers himself down to the sand, to lay on his back. “I didn't even think before I pulled my helmet off. Broke all the rules right there.”

“I won't tell if you don't,” Jin says calmly with a deceptively straight face.

Kame laughs, as Jin's grin escapes, and then suddenly they are both howling with laughter. Tears running down their cheeks, wheezing, chest and stomach hurting bursts of laughter that left them both exhausted and lying side by side on the sand under the palm trees.

“I'm glad you jumped,” Jin admits quietly.

“I didn't have many alternatives,” Kame replies.

“True.” Jin hesitates. “You trusted my suggestion though.”

“Why wouldn't I?” Kame snorts and doesn't notice Jin's hesitant look. “You know what you are talking about, and you ran the scans first. It was my best chance to survive, of course I jumped.”

Jin's right hand drops to the sand beside him, and out of Kame's sight begins to draw nervous circles. “I just ….” He hesitates. He knows this isn't the right time to bring this up, but he also doesn't want to mess up the words. He wants Kame to know that he can trust him, that he wouldn't ever put Kame in danger, not deliberately. Surely Kame has to believe that anyway? He agreed to the mission, but Julie didn't really give them a choice. The circles run deeper, and he hesitates too long, and the moment is lost.

“Speaking of best chance to survive,” Kame says, and struggles to a sitting position, so he can fix Jin with a steely glare. “Why the hell did you land the _Dreamcatcher_? Are you insane? You should have jumped back to the Sorafune.”

“You thought that was a landing? I'm impressed.” Jin jokes, and Kame's eyes narrow in annoyance. 

“There's no way we are getting the _Dreamcatcher_ back into orbit, and given there was no way you could have gotten me off the planet anyway, the best option was for you to return to the Sorafune.”

“Of course it was,” Jin agrees. “Best option, and would have been sensible.”

“Then why didn't you?” Kame asks in exasperation, and Jin takes pity on him. 

“The _Starry_ wasn't the only thing damaged in the meteoroid shower. The _Dreamcatcher_ took damage as well, but I didn't know how badly until after I told you to jump. Ryo told me that there wasn't enough fuel to get to a safe distance before the _Starry_ exploded, let alone jump back to the Sorafune. In fact, we didn't even have enough to make landfall.”

“You didn't have the engines on,” Kame rubs his fingers over his eyes. “I remember now, I saw the _Dreamcatcher_ and I couldn't hear the engines.”

“Yep, I had to glide it in over the last five kilometres. Ryo did a great job tracking your descent, but I wasn't holding out much hope that I would land close to you. Given how much I dropped in the last minute, I was surprised to see you right there when I opened the door.”

“You were bleeding.” Kame reaches over and touches Jin's cheek. “I remember there was blood. Were you hurt?”

“Not really. I bumped my head on the bulkhead as I landed, and you know how much head wounds bleed. Nothing to be concerned about.”

“Did you scan it?”

“Yes. No bruising, no inter-cranial pressure, it's fine.”

Kame's fingers slide into Jin's hair. “Here?” he asks.

“Yes,” Jin says through a wince. “That stings.”

“Sorry.” Kame gently pulls his fingers back, trailing across Jin's jaw as he does so. “I'm glad it wasn't serious.” 

He rubs his eyes again. 

“Ryo,” Kame says through a yawn, and Jin shoots him a sideways glance, and surreptitiously picks up the medical scanner. “How's Ryo? Did he make it?”

“I think so. I told him to keep an eye on the power, and to make sure he was completely backed up on his tablet along with Pi and everything else you sent. Last thing he said to me was to mind the palm trees, and gave me these co-ordinates.” Jin moves his hand slowly, checking the output. Kame's respiration levels are dropping, but he doesn't seem to be in pain. No head injury either. “I put his tablet into the strong box near the _Dreamcatcher_ 's emergency beacon. I figured that was a safe place, and easily discovered when they come for us.”

“So they are coming for us?” Kame shifts, turns onto his side, and Jin hides the medical scanner.

“Yes. I asked Ryo to set up one of probes to be used as a subspace emergency beacon.”

“How broad was the message? Julie's not going to be happy if anyone else sees it.”

“I wasn't really thinking about Julie. I just said it was an emergency, if we didn't contact them again in an hour to send help. It's been over an hour, so they should be on their way to us.”

“I hope so,” Kame mutters. “We only got a fortnight's worth of rations for the mission.” 

“Are you hungry?”

“No.” Kame yawns. “Sleepy.”

Jin whips the scanner back up to double check. Kame's vital signs are normal, maybe he is just sleepy. Jin feels a bit like live wires are coursing through his blood stream; there is no way he could sleep at all, but Kame's day has been a little more intense than his. “Feel free to doze off, I've got us covered.”

“Ok. Wake me in an hour or so.” 

Kame yawns again and... snuggles … into Jin's side. Jin doesn't have another word for it, Kame just relaxed into a boneless heap that curled itself around Jin's side, head resting on Jin's shoulder, chest against his side, foot rubbing against his ankle. He breathes deeply, asleep, and Jin stares at him for a moment. It's been years since he saw Kame asleep, but …. his expression is the same. His face relaxes and he looks gentler somehow, warmer and softer when is asleep. Jin holds his breath as Kame snuggles a little closer, and a small lock of hair falls onto his cheek, moving gently against it with each breath. 

He wants to touch it. So badly, but he doesn't want to risk waking Kame....and having to explain. He lasts four minutes before he stretches out his hand, fingers shaking ever so slightly, to scoop up that lock of hair and push it back into place. Kame doesn't stir, and Jin relaxes slightly, and tells himself that wasn't so bad at all. Nothing to worry about. Careful to not disturb Kame's rest, Jin slowly slides away, inch by inch, until he's out of Kame's grasp. Even though he would much prefer to stay right where he was, and even maybe take a little nap himself, there are preparations that need to be made. When night comes, they will need a little more than palm trees.

**

The next time Kame wakes the light is golden, and dusk is falling. Jin nudges him awake, careful to not jostle his shoulder. “Kame?”

Kame's eyes drift open, slowly focussing on Jin kneeling beside him. “Hey.” He stretches, and winces as the muscles in his legs and arm pull. “How long was I asleep?”

“Not long. About two hours, but it's getting darker so I thought we should sort out food and shelter?” Jin rises, and holds out a hand to Kame to help him up. Kame grabs it, and Jin gives him the leverage to stand. “How are you feeling?”

“Now I definitely feel like I crash landed on a planet.” Kame rolls his shoulders and stretches; Jin winces slightly at the audible pop of joints shifting back into alignment. “Maybe sleeping on the sand wasn't the best idea. I was just suddenly really sleepy.”

Jin subtly slides an arm across his shoulders, and turns him back away from the beach shoreline. “I've set up the outdoor habitat for us.” He catches the glance and answers the question before Kame can ask it. “Don't worry, I checked the tide line and then I moved us another 100 metres back from that. Are you ok with cold rations tonight? I thought we could look for the best places to rig a shower and a fire pit in the morning?”

“Sounds good. Even though I just slept, I still feel tired, and my damn legs are not happy with me.”

“I could give you a massage?” The offer slips out before Jin can think twice.

“I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't mind.” Kame gingerly touches his spine and stretches out his right leg. “I will be more useful to you tomorrow if I can move.”

“Not a problem,” Jin says breezily. “I'll sort you out after dinner.” He points at the open flap. “Here we are.”

Jin's surprised by the chuckle that bubbles up from Kame. “A tent on the beach. I never thought we would do this again!” Still laughing, Kame ducks inside the tent, leaving a stunned Jin behind him. Kame remembers Okinawa? He does? Jin has been so sure, for years, that Kame didn't remember Okinawa or Jin at all.

The ready to eat rations are neither delicious nor attractive, but they get the job done in terms of nutrition. Jin decides that his portion is really a finely cooked Italian dinner, pasta perfectly al dente with a delicious tomato based sauce that includes bacon, chilli and shrimp. He also decides that his accompanying beverage is a smooth pinot noir, in a crystal glass that rings quietly as he puts it down on the fancy tablecloth. Kame looks at him like he has lost his mind, especially as Jin separates the identically foul looking bits of RTE paste into taste sensation areas and mimes putting the wineglass down before realising Jin is just joking. For his own meal, Kame considers for a long time, waiting until his meal is almost half eaten to decide that he is having a traditional roast beef dinner, the meat tender and slathered in a tasty gravy, vegetables roasted to perfection and a side serving of crusty buttered bread. He also decides that Jin only needs half a bottle of the pinot noir, which causes them to playfully argue over the powdered water.

After dinner, Jin slips back into the _Dreamcatcher_ for supplies, and when he returns he motions for Kame to lie down. Kame flops onto his stomach, then pantomimes regret, saying he had forgotten how delicious his dinner was and surely Jin couldn't mean to give him a massage now as simply everyone knows that massages straight after dinner are a bad idea. Taking his cue from Kame's antics, Jin looks sternly at Kame and says that company members who throw themselves out of company ships and give themselves stiff muscles should know better than to eat huge dinners.

Finally Kame settles on his mattress laid on the floor of the tent, and crosses his arms over his pillow. With a sigh he closes his eyes and drops his head to rest on his crossed arms, as Jin kneels beside him saying, “So... there wasn't a large choice in terms of oil.”

Kame opens an eye. “What choice is there?”

One by one, Jin holds up three bottles. 

“Machine oil from the engine kit.”

“Pass.”

“Medicinal washing lotion. This one has a high alcohol content so it will dry quickly which may make you muscles even more sore.”

“Second Pass.”

“And this!” Jin opens the bottle and Kame's eyes snap open as the scent of coconuts wafts towards him. “Coconut oil.”

“Where did you find coconut oil?”

“Would you believe I made this while you were sleeping?”

“Nope.”

“Busted.” Jin grins as he pours a small amount onto his palm, and warms it. “I found it with the kitchen supplies, along with a note saying it could be used for medicinal or hygenic purposes. I have no idea why it was there.”

“Don't look a gift horse in the mouth,” Kame replies. “Definitely option number three.”

“Ok. Number three it is.” Jin shifts to keel at Kame's feet and places his hands on Kame's right thigh, pressing lightly. Kame winces, and Jin eases up immediately. “Tell me if the pressure is too much.”

“No,” Kame says through newly gritted teeth. “You'll need to keep the pressure to hit the knots in the muscles. Keep going.”

“Ok.” Jin pushes down again, and runs his hands down Kame's thigh, presses hard against his knee and then palpates the muscle on his calf. 

Kame lets out a long groan.

Without a word, Jin repeats the step, pushing against the tight, uncomfortable muscles in Kame's leg, kneading and smoothing until he feels them relax slowly. Inch by inch he repeats the process, oil glistening on his fingers and Kame's leg. Kame winces occasionally, especially when he hits a tender spot, but doesn't complain, and Jin is able to focus on how he responds to know the amount of pressure that will do the most good. Finally his right leg is relaxed, Jin's hands slide easily from the top of his thigh down to his ankle, moving smoothly without any winces or pulls. Jin picks up his right foot, and gently moves it in a circle, clockwise, then anti-clockwise and Kame lets out of sigh of contentment.

Jin was reluctant to move to the left leg, but a half done massage wouldn't be of use in the long term. He adds more oil, and says, “Left side now” so Kame knows what is coming. Even so, Jin winces along with Kame as his fingers dig into rock hard thigh muscles. “Sorry,” he mutters as Kame breathes determinedly through the pain, and to distract him Jin says, “You have really hairy legs.”

“I do.”

“Why are they so hairy? Your arms aren't....” Jin digs a little deeper around his knee. “Do you shave your arms?”

“No, I don't … shave my arms. My legs... are... just... hairy.” Kame gasps as the massage continues. “Hairier than yours.”

“I have hair!” Jin argues. “Mine is just lighter. I don't shave, it's just not as thick.” Kame thrashes as Jin hits a particularly sensitive spot in his calf. Jin holds on grimly, maintaining the pressures even as Kame jolts and swears and tries to throw him off. Suddenly the muscle softens, releases tension and Kame relaxes with it, muttering his apologies. Jin ignores them, he knows Kame's not mad at him. “How about a beard?” he asks. “Do you have to shave a lot?”

Kame shrugs his shoulders a little, and Jin takes the chance to grab the hem of Kame's sleeveless undershirt and tug it up over Kame's head. This time Jin pours the oil directly onto Kame's shoulders and watches it carefully slide down his spine. Jin kneels over Kame, bringing to bear his full weight against his shoulders, until at the last minute he remembers the dislocated shoulder injury. He pulls back the weight on the right side. Kame stiffens as he digs his thumbs into his left shoulder.

“A fair amount,” Kame gasps, and having been distracted by the oil, Kame's back and how they looked together, it takes Jin a moment to realise what Kame's talking about. With a reminder to himself to focus, he listens as Kame tells him that he can grow in a small beard, but it's mainly around his mouth and chin, more of a goatee than a beard. Nothing on his cheeks or jaw.

“Nothing on the jaw line, huh?” Jin comments, pressing firmly into each vertebrae of Kame's spine. “I get growth along my jawline and under my chin. Around my mouth too. Given enough time, it comes in fairly well.”

“How long does it take?”

“Maybe a week?” Jin guesses. “A few days gives me stubble, which can look okay, but I prefer it to look more deliberate. 

“You'd look good with the stubble though.” Kame presses his face against his arms as Jin pushes firmly into his hip muscles. “Give you a really manly image.”

“I don't know about that. Sometimes it's just because I couldn't be bothered shaving.”

“Like I said. Manly.” As Jin concentrates on his left hip, Kame looks over his right shoulder. “Mine comes in fairly lightly, so I think I look scruffy rather than manly.”

“Have you ever seen me with growth?”

“No.”

“Believe me, more than one person has told me that I look scruffy as well.”

Kame grins. “Well, depending on how Julie reacts to the emergency beacon news, we may have time to compare.”

“True.” Jin sits back and makes a big deal of rubbing his chin. “Yes I definitely feel it. Shadow will be visible tomorrow morning, by tomorrow night you'll see stubble.” As Kame snorts, Jin sneaks an oily hand under Kame's chin. “No stubble here. No shadow, it's definitely going to take a few days,” he says, rubbing playfully.

Kame bats his hand away, laughing. “Get back to work,” he orders.

“Aye aye Captain Beardless,” Jin smirks and presses hard again on Kame's shoulder. Given the involuntary howl that Kame lets out, Jin figures his massage really is working.

Jin is impressed with the coconut oil, a little bit definitely goes a long way. Once he has made a pass over each area once, he doesn't really need to use more oil, Kame's skin stays slick and soft and he can really concentrate on relieving the tension, getting those knotted muscles to relax. Kame is pliant now, the tense muscles in his legs and back are definitely softer, and he seems to be relaxed, but he is not sleepy at all. On the contrary, the more Jin's hands slide over his back, the more awake Kame seems to be. Which Jin is considering to be ironic, as the rhythmic strokes are fairly relaxing for him, and he is starting to zone out.

“Jin?” Kame finally asks.

“Yeah?” Jin lets his thumbs glide down Kame's spine.

“You should probably stop.”

“I'm fine,” he answers distractedly, running his thumb over Kame's hip bone.

“Seriously, Jin, you can stop. You must be tired.”

Jin sits back and winces as his hands leave Kame's back. “You might be right,” he says, flexing his fingers gingerly. “I lost track of time.”

“And I needed a lot of work,” Kame rolls onto his side, and grabs Jin's arm pulling him down onto the mattress set beside him. “Enough for today.” 

“Right,” Jin grins as he flops onto his own bed. 

“If you ever need to HALO jump out of an exploding ship, I promise to give you a massage afterwards,” Kame promises.

“How about if I work really hard collecting coconuts tomorrow?”

Kame pretends to consider it. “Nope. Massages require a certain level of …..” he searches for a word in vain.

“Trauma?” Jin suggests.

“Life threatening circumstances,” Kame finally settles upon. “Seriously, though, thank you.”

“No problem.” Jin flexes his fingers, now that he has stopped moving his hands, he is feeling the effects.

Kame scoots over to the edge of his mattress and grabs his left hand. “Let me give you a hand massage.”

Jin raises an eyebrow. “A what now?”

“Hand massage. It will help.” Before Jin can resist, he threads his fingers through Jin's and begins to move their hands in circles. Jin's hands are soft from the oil, not slick like Kame's skin, but soft enough to make sure that Kame's movements won't catch on dry skin. “This is something I learned from an old friend. She took me to get a manicure one day, and the nail technician gave me this strange paraffin oil treatment while I was waiting, and part of it was a hand massage. I'd just come back from a long mission, and Anne wanted to treat me to something.” Kame keeps talking, voice light as tells the story. Jin's eyes are sliding closed, and his breath is deepening. Looks like massages are successful for both of them. “She said that hand massages are something that are neglected, but really beneficial. Of course, you can do them on yourself, but it's best to have someone else do it, they have a greater range of movement.” Kame slips his fingers free, and begins massaging Jin's wrist. “Like this bit. When you do this yourself you have to angle the roll from the side, but I can grasp it here from the front and really turn the muscles over.” With a final smooth rub over his inner wrist, Kame switches to Jin's other hand. “Of course, the manicure experience ended up getting me into trouble with Julie, because I let them paint my nails.”

“What colour?” Jin asks sleepily.

“What do you think?” Kame teases back. “Emerald. I got them painted emerald, and Julie yelled at me for being unprofessional and breaking company image policy and suggested that I would give people the wrong idea about me.” Kame concentrates on Jin's palm, he can feel the tension in his fingers, but Jin himself is almost asleep. The massage is definitely working. “Not that people ever get the right idea about me,” he mutters.”Sometimes I think I could carry a neon sign and people would still ask the question.”

He looks down at Jin and smiles ruefully at the sight of Jin fast asleep. Kame carefully finishes the massage, gently so as not to wake him, but enough to make sure his hand isn't sore the next day.

“Sleep well,” he says, and is answered only be a small snore. Kame doesn't think he is tired, really how can he be after napping in the afternoon - but lying there listening to Jin sleep, he slowly finds himself drifting, until finally he slips into sleep himself. Just like the last time.

**

“Jin? Are you awake?” 

Someone is talking to him, but Jin is warm and sleepy and comfortable and it can't possibly be morning yet because surely he only just closed his eyes, but his teddy bear is moving and that's never a good sign... and he doesn't have a teddy bear.

Jin cracks open an eye. His teddy bear is a very Kamenashi-shaped bundle. Which he seems to be hugging to his chest. Like a teddy bear. Only he was asleep so that meant he couldn't be held responsible for his actions. Right? Right?

Jin cracks his second eye open. Kame has managed to turn his head far enough to see Jin's face. At least he is smiling.

“Do you think I'm a teddy bear?” Kame asks with a laugh.

“No?” Jin denies weakly.

“Interesting. I could have sworn you were muttering teddy bear teddy bear teddy bear less than one minute ago.”

“Must be your imagination.” Yep, bluffing his way through this was definitely the best idea. If he held as still as possible, everything would be all right. Right?

“Jin?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think you could possibly let me get up so I can go the bathroom?”

Kame's shoulders shake as Jin's arms fly backwards, as if someone has just released a spring. He moves far too quickly for someone who has just woken up, flailing as he lets Kame go, rolling backwards as he struggles to put some distance between them.

“Relax, I said I needed to go the bathroom, not that I was infected with some terrible disease,” Kame jokes, a little bewildered by Jin's fairly extreme reaction.

“Sorry, I didn't mean..” Jin starts to apologise. “I didn't realise that I....”

“It's fine. Jin. Seriously. It's fine. Can we have this conversation later please? I really need to – nature calls.”

Jin nods, and shifts his glance to the far side of the tent, away from Kame. “Take as long as you need.”

“Back soon,” Kame replies lightly, and quickly crawls out of the tent, taking care to zip the flap closed behind him.

Jin lies on his mattress, and takes deep deep lungfuls of air, while he tries to calm his heart rate, and will away a certain morning condition. He didn't think Kame had felt it. Or maybe if he had, he would understand that he was a guy, it was morning, he was warm and cosy and .. happy...and things had gotten a little firmer than he had expected? Kame had said it was fine, but really – was it?

The lungfuls of air were not really helping him.

The memory of Kame clutched to his chest was also not helping him reduce the problem, if anything it was making matters worse.

Jin willed himself to think of unattractive things. Mouldy strawberries. Rotten tomatoes. Kame's lips. Not helping. Kame's laughing face as he lay on the sand and the breeze tossed his hair. Really not helping. Kame cuddling into him.... really really not helping.

It wouldn't take much, he was so hard already and it would only take a few... Jin surrenders, and slides a hand into his sleeping bag. 

**

When they settle down beside the tent for breakfast, they pretend that their breakfast options are anything except the hideous ration paste. Jin has settled on pancakes with maple syrup and two scoops of ice-cream, while Kame settled on black coffee, miso soup and rice. The miso soup and rice is his concession to Jin claiming that black coffee couldn't be his only breakfast option, as it was not food.

“So do you cuddle with all your tent mates, or is it just me?” Kame asks, as he pretends to sip his coffee.

Jin chokes on his pancake tasting ration paste. “Sorry?” he manages after a few violent coughs.

“I'm just asking because last night you cuddled up to me in your sleep, and when we shared that tent in Okinawa you did the same.”

“Okinawa?”

“Yeah, Okinawa. Remember when we were sent down to Okinawa as part of the company internship? We had to advertise the company, and they filmed us walking around Okinawa in those stupid grandpa shoes, and then they made us sleep in the tent on the beach?” Kame stops and stares at Jin. “Don't tell me you have forgotten that?”

Jin swallows, his throat dry. “Of course not. I thought – I thought you had forgotten it.”

“Not likely,” Kame snorts. “Much as I'd like to forget having to wear those shoes, I do remember. Some things, like you squealing when they put the snake over your shoulders shouldn't be forgotten.”

Jin can't quite hide the shudder at that memory, which is a little too fresh. “I hate snakes.”

“Not that fond of them myself, but Okinawa is still the only time I have had to handle one like that.”

“I remember.”

“So do I.” Kame pauses. “Why would you think that I didn't remember?”

Jin looks away and busies himself with cleaning up the ration packets. “No particular reason,” he mumbles. “We should get started on making that fire pit -”

“Wait.”

“If we get it started soon, we can have a hot lunch.”

“Wait. You think I forgot we had that internship together on Okinawa. Why?”

Jin peeps sideways at Kame. He looks serious and determined. Damn it. Jin never could lie convincingly.

“You didn't know who I was when we started basic training.” There. Jin was quite proud of that sentence. It didn't sound whiny at all.

“Basic training? We weren't in the same group for basic training?”

“No we weren't but we had meals at the same time in the dining hall. I said hello to you one day, and you ignored me.”

“I did?” Kame stares at him. “Sorry, I don't remember that.”

“It's nothing,” Jin says, and starts to stand. Kame grabs his arm and drags him back down.

“It's obviously something. I'm sorry, I wouldn't have done it on purpose.”

“Of course,” Jin says, wishing he was anywhere else in the Universe at that moment, just so he could avoid this conversation. 

“You should have said something to me later,” Kame trails off as he catches the expression on Jin's face. “What?”

“It's nothing,” Jin repeats, and this time Kame is prepared.

“We are the only two people on this planet. If we stop speaking to each other over a misunderstanding, things are going to get very awkward. Jin, please, if I did something stupid, please tell me so I can apologise for it.”

Jin bites his lip. Kame seems sincere, maybe he really didn't remember? Kame had remembered Okinawa after all, so maybe there was an explanation? He chews harder, then decides to take the risk. “I saw you alone one afternoon, and I tried to talk to you, and you completely brushed me off. Wouldn't even turn to look at me.”

“I did? I really don't remember. When?”

“In the last week of basic training, you were sitting by yourself for once. Normally there were lots of people, but this one time it was just you. You had a new camera and were trying to take photos of this weird silver equipment thing, and I said hello again, and asked you about the camera, and what picture you were aiming for, and you completely ignored me and brushed me aside when you left.”

“Oh fuck.” Kame reaches over and grips Jin's arms, holding on until Jin meets his gaze. “I do remember that. I'm sorry.”

“It's no big deal,” Jin says, as Kame interrupts him.

“Let me explain. That was my exercise for accreditation for solo missions, I had to undertake it as a secret mission and when you started talking to me I was terrified that I was about to screw everything up. That's why I ignored you.” Kame shrugs helplessly. “I felt like an asshole at the time, but I thought whoever it was would work out that was what I was doing, and understand. I didn't even look at you, I was so focussed on getting the required shot and submitting it. If I had known it was you, I promise I would have stopped.”

“It's not a big deal,” Jin repeats, and this time, Kame is having none of it.

“It obviously is, if that's the reason why you so rarely talk to me these days.”

“I talk to you,” Jin mutters, keeping his eyes averted.

“Not the way I had hoped,” Kame says, and Jin flinches, looking at Kame before he can help himself. “We had such a good time together in Okinawa. I had hoped that once we were both inducted into the company that we could work together properly.”

Jin waits, searches for any break in the words, anything that might show Kame doesn't mean it. He's been so sure for so long that Kame just saw him as a work colleague that was none to bright. Could he have got it wrong? Really? Kame had remembered the tent and Okinawa. Maybe... before he had a chance to really think about it, Jin asked, “Do you remember what we did after dinner in Okinawa?”

Kame raises an eyebrow. “When we went to the game centre? Yes, I remember. We got into trouble because I convinced you to stay in the flight simulator until you were used to the initial zero g drop.”

“And you kept distracting me by throwing that baseball.”

“Actually, that was probably the real reason why we got in trouble. After all we were paying for the simulator, they were probably worried that at some point I was going to miss and break the simulator door!” Kame grins at Jin, a wide open smile that changes his expression dramatically, and once more Jin is sixteen and an intern on Okinawa. “It worked though, by the end you had stopped screaming.”

“Yeah, it worked. Thanks.”

“You're welcome.” Kame stares at him, and his tongue darts out to lick his lips. “What else did I do?” When Jin stares at him and says nothing, Kame sighs, and licks his lips again. “I must have done something. After Okinawa we promised to find a way to get onto the same team and be the best survey team the company ever had. There must have been something else? Right? What did I do?”

“You said that everyone working on the red team was incompetent, and didn't deserve to be in the company.”

Kame winces, he can tell from Jin's tone that was a direct quote. “When did I say it?”

“After our first mission.”

“And you were on red team?”

“I was the leader.”

Kame drops his head towards his chest, then shuffles back so he is kneeling, formal seiza position. “I am sorry.” Jin nods.

Before Jin can react, Kame bows, formally, back straight, hands on his thighs. 

“I'll be honest, I don't even remember saying it, or what reason I was basing it on. If it was after our first mission, I was probably just trash talking, trying to fit in with the older team members. If I had known you were the team leader, there is no way I would have said it. I'm sorry that my words hurt you.”

Jin reaches over and places his hands on Kame's forearms, a silent signal that his apology has been accepted.

Kame straightens. “Can we start again please?”

“Yes.” Jin nods and as Kame beams at him says, “I'd like that.”

“So would I!” He spreads his arms and gestures around them. “I mean it;s a little dramatic that we had to almost die to have this conversation, but I am glad that we got sent on this mission. If there happens to be a next time, could we maybe talk about it before the life in peril and stranded on an unexplored planet bit happens?”

A grin tugs at Jin's mouth, and Kame's stomach settles down. “Sure,” Jin says. “I just want you to remember that it was your fault that we haven't been on good terms and that actually I had my landing under control for most of the descent so my life wasn't really in peril.”

Kame's eyebrows shoot up. “Really?” he drawls. “No power to the engines, no descent plan, no way to steer, you call that under control?”

“Did I or did I not land less than a kilometre from where your impact zone was?”

“Luck,” Kame snorts.

“Talent,” Jin replies.

“Well Mr Talented big shot pilot who used to scream at zero g falls, we should probably get your fire pit started, and then get to work on our survey data. However long we are here for, we need to know more about this place.”

“Agreed,” Jin says and tosses back the remnants of his pretend pancake breakfast. “Your dishes?” he asks, and Kame hands over his sachets. Jin adds them to the small bag of trash they have gathered. Luckily it was all burnable garbage so they could use it as fuel in their soon to be fire pit.

“One more thing,” Kame says and Jin looks over. Kame is standing at the flap of the tent, but he is looking inside not at Jin. “Last night was the best nights sleep I have had in years. If you find yourself in need of a teddy bear tonight or any other night, I won't object. You seemed to enjoy it too.” With that, Kame walks into the tent, leaving Jin with his mouth open, and his brain desperately trying to process whether Kame had just told him he was expecting to be cuddled tonight.

**

The fire pit is easier to establish than they had hoped. It only takes them an hour with a crystal lens and artfully arranged paper and dry grass to get a dancing yellow flame that could be carried, and when Jin sets it against the material in the pit it changes colour to a shimmery silver. Which causes both of them to leap back in alarm because obviously, fire is red, orange or yellow and very occasionally blue, but never silver.

In unison, both of them creep backwards, away from the fire.

“It's silver,” Kame says, puzzled.

“Maybe it's the trash...?” Jin suggests, because really silver fire is not a thing.

“Maybe?” Kame agrees. Together they inch closer to the fire, which is hot, like a fire should be, with grey smoke, like a fire should have, and silver flames which was just plain weird. “Watch and see what happens? Kame suggests, and Jin nods, because he can't think of any reason why not. They have a silver fire.

**

They settle easily into the survey work, although this time the data will be much more limited. It's much more efficient to gather a huge variety of samples when you send probes down across a planet and retrieve them. Here they were stuck with a small sample. They decide to concentrate on a 3 kilometre radius, as that will cover a sample of terrain, including sea, beach, sand dunes and mountain areas. Different vegetation, different minerals, different air samples. Everything that the probes would have gathered automatically, but they need to gather them by hand.

“This is a little bit like science class,” Kame says as he wades knee deep into the water. “Do you think we can catch bugs later?”

Jin pauses. “I haven't seen any bugs.” 

“Well I for one am not missing the mosquitoes,” Kame jokes.

“No, listen. I haven't seen any bugs. At all. No mosquitoes, no sand bugs, no moths, no flies. I haven't heard any birds either.”

Kame wades back to shore. “At all?”

“Nothing.”

“It is quiet.”

“Too quiet?”

“No bird sounds, no insects...” Kame glances up and down the beach. “No shells or star fish on the beach?”

“There has to be something here. We have vegetation so there must be some kind of insect life, right?”

“Well they did propose that not all green planets would hold life as we know it. Maybe this planet has microscopic life that didn't evolve beyond that.”

“Or maybe it's evolved in another direction?”

“What are you suggesting? Little green men?” Kame snorts.

“Not necessarily, but maybe they have some weird things that we don't know about. We should be seeing insect life here, we should be hearing birds. I'm not saying we should have a little penguin colony on the next sand dune, but I do think we should be hearing gulls, or being bitten to death by mosquitoes. Usually.”

“True,” Kame looks around. “So we assume that there has to be an evolving ecosystem because there is vegetation. We just assume that maybe there is no large scale life forms? No whales, no dinosaurs?”

“Dinosaurs would be cool. Maybe all the small life is hiding because there are dinosaurs, and they don't want to be eaten?”

“Wouldn't the dinosaurs have come over to see what was happening when we arrived?”

“Not necessarily. You landed fairly quietly, and I had no engines so we weren't really that loud. It wasn't like there was a huge explosion. We haven't been using loud machinery... maybe they haven't heard us yet.” Jin says triumphantly. 

“Jin, if there are dinosaurs – that's really not good news for us.”

“We would be known as the team that found the dinosaur planet!”

“Jin, we are stuck on the dinosaur planet. With no way of getting off the dinosaur planet without help. Being eaten by dinosaurs is not how I want my career to end.”

“That – is a downside.”

“We also have no proof that there are dinosaurs. We do have proof that there is microscopic life as we have vegetation, so bacteria and some insect life is likely. We surveyed a green planet. That's pretty special just by itself.”

“Yeah.” Jin scuffs the sand at his feet a little. “Dinosaurs would be really really special though.” When Kame glares at him, Jin carefully puts the samples he is holding on the ground. “Kame?” he says quietly, intently, seriously. “Behind you. Dinosaur.”

Kame spins around quickly to find nothing there, and when he turns back to throw sand at Jin, he sees Jin lumbering towards him across the sand, pretending to be Godzilla. 

“Raaaawr,” Jin bellows.

Kame does throw the sand at him.

“Don't throw sand at Godzilla!” 

“How old are you? 12?”

“You wanted to catch bugs earlier!” Jin retorts, then waves his tiny Godzilla-like arms at Kame. “Godzilla can't catch bugs.” He stalks closer. “Godzilla can eat turtles though.”

“Jin...” Kame warns.

“Godzilla,” Jin corrects.

“Godzilla,” Kame warns.

“RAAAAAARGH,” Godzilla answers as flailing dinosaur arms try to catch Kame, who spins away and takes off down the beach with a laughing mutant dinosaur in hot pursuit.

Kame runs and dodges but Jin keeps up with him, finally catching him with a very un-Godzilla like soccer strike on his ankle. Kame tumbles to the sand and Jin lands on top of him, yelling “Godzilla wins!”

Kame wrestles him over, managing to pin the laughing Jin to the sand. Jin kicks, and Kame sits on him, squashing him into the sand as punishment.

“Are you crazy?” he asks.

“Even if we are stuck on a dinosaur planet, there should always be time for fun,” Jin says, grinning up at him.

“True,” Kame says and looks down at Jin, all flushed and squirming and happy. “Fun is good.”

“Yes it is,” Jin laughs back, as Kame's hair is all tousled and he has sand on his face and he is laughing. He loves it when Kame laughs.

“So we agree then?” Kame says and leans in closer, and Jin starts to realise that things may not be going in the direction he is expecting. “Fun is everything?” Kame locks eyes with Jin, and Jin gulps a nervous breath, and then Kame is rubbing Jin's collar bones without mercy.

Jin thrashes in the sand, swearing and screaming and bucking and doing everything he can to get away, but Kame pins him hard and laughs.

“Stop! Stop! Stoooop!” Jin finally yells, and Kame lifts his hands up, braces them in the sand above Jin's shoulders while Jin catches his breath.

“Bastard,” he wheezes, and Kame grins down at him.

“Don't insult my parents like that.”

Jin's still breathing heavily, but he finally manages to ask, “How did you know?”

“Yokoyama told me,” Kame admits. “He said something interesting would happen, but I really didn't know what. Does it really hurt?”

“Yes!” Jin yells. “It itches and hurts and drives me crazy.”

“Awwww,” Kame grins down at him. “Should I kiss it and make it better?”

Without thinking about it, Kame leans down and presses a kiss above each of Jin's collar bones. Jin freezes beneath him, body rigid, and Kame realises what he has done.

“Sorry!” He scrambles off Jin, and struggles to his feet. “Sorry!”

“It's fine,” Jin says, a little dazed but he repeats the words anyway. “It's fine.”

“Really?”

“It's fine,” Jin repeats with a concerned look at Kame.

“We.... we should finish running the tests, and see if the scanner picked up any fresh water nearby.” Kame nods, and looks down at Jin. “I'll go check the scanner.” With that he bolts towards the ship, leaving Jin lying in the sand, trying to work out what just happened and whether there was any other way he could interpret the fact that Kame had just kissed his chest. 

**

The scanner predicts that they will find a body of fresh water about five kilometres from where they are, a bit of a hike into the mountains. Given the distance and their distinct lack of flashlights (except for the emergency ones kept by the _Dreamcatcher_ engine and the one on the emergency evacuation kit which Kame argues should be saved for real emergencies although Jin tries to point out that surely they are living through an emergency), they decide to leave it for the next day, and instead push on with finishing all the sampling that they possibly can. Kame points out the trip to the possible lake could also be a “sample trip”, so they pack a bag ready for the next day.

**

“It's pink!”

Jin and Kame stare at the lake in front of them. It is, without question, pink. Light pink, pepto bismol pink, candy floss pink, surely there was no way that could exist in nature pink.

“How...” Kame trails off, and Jin points the scanner at the lake.

“Umm,” Jin answers. “The scanner says it's fresh water, it's 4 kilometres long and 2 kilometres wide and about 500 metres deep in the middle. Water temperature is showing as moderate.”

“And the pink?”

“No mention of the pink.”

“What?!”

“It doesn't say anything about the pink... wait! Look!” Jin thrusts the scanner at Kame. “It's picking up strange salt compounds in the water. Nothing toxic, nothing to worry about!”

Kame scrolls through the report. “But what makes it pink?” He turns to Jin who is pulling off his boots. “What are you doing?”

Jin kicks of his boots. “What does it look like?” 

“You can't possibly be thinking about swimming in that?”

Jin yanks his black tshirt over his head, and shimmies out of his soft black pants as Kame hurriedly looks away. Apparently Jin doesn't feel the need for underwear on long journeys.

“But.....” Kame stares away determinedly. “It's pink!”

“And safe according to the scanner, and I haven't been swimming in fresh water in years.” Jin moves closer and waves a hand in front of Kame's face, and Kame makes eye contact and maintains it determinedly. No glancing down. None. “It's been sonic showers and 10 second water rinses for months. Come on, it will be great...” he coaxes.

“But... pink!” Kame wavers, and Jin grabs him around the waist and tries to haul him over his shoulder. “What the?” he sputters and kicks as Jin grabs his arms, tosses the bag and scanner away and starts dragging him towards the lake.

 

“You should probably dump the tshirt and pants before we get to the water!” Jin says cheerily. “Hiking back to the beach in wet clothes would be awful.”

“Jin,” Kame warns, and Jin stops.

“What?”

“I'm not going swimming.”

“Why?”

“It might not be safe!”

“The scanner said it was fine.”

“It's pink!”

“And it's water,” Jin huffs. “Fine, stay here if you like but I am going swimming.” He lets Kame go, and walks towards the lake.

Kame stares at his back, and his legs and his butt and his hair and his.... he's really going to do it. Kame flinches as Jin walks into the lake, and waits for Jin to scream in pain, or for the lake to boil over with bubbles or something. 

“Aaaaah,” Jin yells, and Kame starts running towards him, only to come to a screeching halt as Jin calls out to him, “This feels amazing. Kame, you have to come in!”

“You are ok?” Kame asks, and Jin looks at him like he has lost his mind.

“The water feels great. Come on Kame, try it.”

Kame looks back towards the bag and the scanner, and then over at Jin.

“Trust me, it's fine.”

With a deep breath, and then another, Kame strips off his boots and his clothes, and runs into the water, before he can think about it too much. With a whoop of victory, Jin splashes water at him.

“See! I told you!” Jin grins at him, and Kame grins back, ducking down under the water to wet his hair and let it sweep over his skin. Jin's right, it feels great.

Kame surfaces, grinning, just in time for Jin to land on top of him and dunk him under the water.

Kame sputters and glares at him. Jin looks at him with innocent blinking eyes. Kame glares some more, and Jin smiles sweetly at him.

“Enjoying yourself?” he asks, and Kame can't help but laugh a bit.

**

Lying on the grass, drying off under the sun... is also enjoyable. Jin is careful to not stare but Kame's arms are amazing. He reaches over and touches Kame's left bicep. “Is that from baseball?” 

“Yep,” Kame nods. “I've started playing with some of the guys whenever I can, even if it's just throwing pitches. How about you? Still playing soccer?”

Jin makes a face. “Sometimes. It's harder to have a pick up game of soccer. I watch more games than I play.”

Kame stretches, and Jin tries not to notice the way the muscles move on his chest and hips, but he notices. A lot.

“We should head back.”

“Yeah.”

Neither of them move.

“This is nice though.”

“Yep.”

“Stay here a bit longer?”

“Yep.”

“No sleeping though. We don't want to be hiking back in the dark.”

“Right. No sleeping.”

Five minutes later, both are deeply asleep.

**

“Jin! Wake up.”

“Five more minutes.”

“Not unless you want to be a lobster. It's almost noon, and you'll burn.”

Jin opens his eyes to find a fully clothed Kame sitting beside him. He is understandably disappointed his clothes have returned.

“It's what?” Jin asks.

“Almost noon. The sun is almost directly overhead.” Kame points up towards the sky, and Jin squints in the bright light. 

“Time to head back then,” he says.

“Yep,” Kame agrees and drops Jin clothes on his stomach. “Much as the view here is one to be admired, we should head back....”

Jin sighs and then stares as Kame adds, “... before it turns into a lobster, and we don't have any healing creams for sunburn, I'm sure.” Kame grins as Jin stares at him. “Get your clothes on, and let's go.”

Jin fights his way into his pants, and boots, and pulls his tshirt on as he heads after Kame who is cheerfully whistling on his way back down the mountain. These were signals, right? Kame was giving him signals? Maybe?

**

Halfway back to the camp, Jin stops. “That's weird.” He shakes the scanner, and runs the test again. “I'm picking up some kind of transmission.”

“From where?”

“It's not entirely clear.” Jin hands the scanner over to Kame so he can see for himself. “It's definitely there though.”

“And not anywhere we have looked at previously.” Kame frowns slightly, and hands the scanner back to Jin. “Weird.”

“If we get closer, we might get a better read on the transmission. It looks like it's very faint.”

“Well, there is that taller mountain range towards the south?” Kame suggests. “If we get some height, the signal might come in clearer.”

“It might also give away our position.”

“Until we can say for sure, we have to treat this planet as uninhabited.”

“And a weird random transmission doesn't suggest to you that we may not be alone here?”

“Not necessarily.”

“OK then. Who is making the transmission then? Where is the transmission coming from? How is the transmission being made?” Jin asks, firing the questions at Kame.

“Why don't we confirm it's a transmission first?”

“So you are happy to hike up a mountain range for hours, through unexplored terrain to possibly get a firmer lock on this transmission, but you aren't willing to consider the fact there might be other life forms out here?”

“We've had this discussion. Of course there is life on this planet. There has to be for the vegetation we found. It's microscopic level though, we have no sign there is intelligent life on this planet.”

“Except the transmission.”

“Which might not be a transmission. It might simply be a glitch in the scanner.”

“Fine.” Jin glares half heartedly at Kame. “If hiking up those mountains is what is going to convince you that we should possibly consider there is other life here, then fine. That's what we will do.” Kame grins at him. “Although I am surprised that you consider yourself to be unintelligent.”

“What?”

“You said it yourself,” Jin says smugly. “You said we have no sign there is intelligent life on this planet.”

“Start walking.”

“Of course. Should we follow the river? Is that the intelligent thing to do?”

“….Are you going to let that go any time soon?”

“I don't know what you mean. Must be my less than intelligent brain malfunctioning.” Jin smiles sweetly, and lets waveS of innocence roll ofF him. “Are we there yet?”

Kame glares, and suddenly lunges for Jin's collarbones. Jin shrieks, stumbles and then bolts away from him. In hot pursuit, Kame laughs. Even while he is running away from him, Jin is making sure to keep moving towards those mountains.

***'

“Is the signal any clearer?” Jin sprawls on the grassy incline, and stretches his arms over his head. “Do we need to climb any higher?”

“I think this will do,” Kame answers distractedly. “There's something wrong with this signal though. It's almost as if the higher we get the broader it is, which doesn't make sense to me.”

“It's less clear?”

“No.” Kame struggles for the words to explain. “It's almost as if the signal is filling all the available space, but it's not stronger.”

“So it's broader but not stronger, it's clearer but not targeted and it's … pulsing?”

“Yes, that's it! It's pulsing on a really broad spectrum.”

“Oh no. Fuck no. Give me the scanner.”

Kame hands it over and watches as Jin adjusts the intake levels, shutting down all the areas he deems unnecessary. He doesn't need to ask; he knows that Jin is shutting out all the frequencies he thinks shouldn't count, and now he's tuning the scanner to get the best possible access to the transmission.

“Fuck,” Jin finally says, and looks at Kame. “I'm sorry.”

“Why?”

Jin adjusts the volume. “Listen.”

“This is the _Dreamcatcher_. We have a life threatening situation. If we do not make further contact within one hour, send a rescue party. This is the _Dreamcatcher_. We have a life threatening situation. If we do not make further contact within one hour, send a rescue party. This is the _Dreamcatcher_. We have a life threatening situation. If we do not make further contact within one hour, send a rescue party. This is the _Dreamcatcher_. We have a life threatening situation. If we do not make further contact within one hour, send a rescue party. This is the _Dreamcatcher_. We have a life threatening situation. If we do not make further contact within one hour, send a rescue party.”

“That's the subspace emergency beacon,” Kame says flatly.

“Yes.”

“And it's broadcasting from somewhere on this planet.”

“Yes.”

“Which means the Sorafune has no idea we are in trouble.”

“Yes.”

Kame looks up, at the clouds that blanket the top of the mountain. “I'll be back later.”

“Kame...” Jin starts, but realises he has no idea what else he can say.

“Just... enough.” Kame keeps his gaze fixed on the mountain. “I'll come back, I just need some time alone right now.”

“OK,” Jin replies quietly. “Be careful.”

“You don't have to wait for me.”

“Yes I do.”

Kame opens his mouth to argue, then gives a resigned nod. He starts walking, higher up the slope. He doesn't have any idea where he is going, he just knows he needs to be somewhere alone for a while where he can scream and shout and yell and curse and work this through.

He doesn't look back at Jin, sitting forlornly on the grass, keeping watch over their bags. He just walks away.

***

When Kame returns, it's an hour later, and Jin has wrapped himself up as warmly as he can in his flight jacket, legs pulled up to his chin and scanner held close so he can monitor any change in their environment.

He looks up as Kame approaches. “I'm sorry,” he says simply.

Kame sits down beside him, and punches his arm. “Not your fault. You thought it was broadcasting all this time as well.”

“I did.”

“Then it's not your fault,” Kame says simply, and waits for it to sink in far enough for Jin to believe. “You did everything right.”

“All I can think of is that the meteorite shower interfered with the beacon's ability to access the subspace channel, and it fell out of orbit.”

“Most likely. You didn't have time to double check.”

“No.”

Kame leans back against the grass, and notes that Jin doesn't relax beside him. “Sorry for disappearing for an hour.”

“It's fine,” Jin answers and even a blind man with no social skills would have been able to tell that the words Jin chose to say bore no relation to what his meaning actually was. 

“I always intended to come back,” Kame says bluntly. “I just sometimes need time alone to process things.”

“I knew you were coming back.” Again Jin's tone doesn't quite match the words.

“Ok.” Kame sneaks a look at Jin's impassive face. Normally he can read Jin easily, he wears most of his heart on his sleeve, but right now, Kame's not sure what he needs to say to fix this. “I promise, I will always come back.”

“Of course.”

“Then what are you worried about?”

“I'm not worried.”

“Yes you are.”

“No.”

“Jin. Please.”

“Last night you were all concerned about us staying together, and knowing where we were at all times so we could be rescued. And then you walk away and leave me on the side of a mountain.”

“Well we weren't in imminent danger of being rescued,” Kame tries to joke, but stops as Jin glares at him. “Sorry.”

“This isn't my fault.”

“I know,” Kame says. “It just happened.” He notes the tension in Jin's jawline. “I'm not mad at you. I walked away because I was mad at myself. Sometimes I just need a space to rage at the Universe until I feel better.”

“Well next time, could you please do it a little closer, and not walk away and leave me alone on the side of a mountain?”

Kame winces internally. Put like that, it did sound like a bit of a dick move. “Agreed.”

Jin puts out his hand, and Kame shakes it, firmly and with conviction.

“We should get moving,” Jin says. “I've been tracking the weather patterns, and it looks like rain is coming, but these mountains could change things a little.”

“Fine with me,” Kame says, and jumps to his feet, hauling Jin up with him. “Let's get off this mountain.”

***

The clouds are growing more ominous by the second, but it's the sound of something crashing through the undergrowth near them that causes Kame to catch Jin's arm and haul him to a stop.

It comes nearer, and nearer, and Jin and Kame are completely exposed on an unforested patch of grass, with no trees or rocks to hide behind. They stay very still, watching, and then suddenly a rabbit hops towards them.

A one metre long rabbit. That is blue. With huge ears and sparkly white teeth and it hops straight towards them. 

“Rabbit planet? Not dinosaur planet.” Kame whispers to Jin.

The rabbit stops at Kame's feet, sits back on it's hind legs and wiggles it's nose at Kame, then tilts it's head to the side as it looks up at Jin.

“Hello,” says Kame.

The rabbit twitches it's nose once more, hops closer and puts it's blue front paws on Kame's foot. He reaches down and the rabbit jumps up into his arms, and Kame staggers under the sudden weight.

“Kame, put the bunny down.” Jin hisses at him. “Right now.”

While he is turning to look at Jin, the bunny suddenly kicks Kame in the chest and drops to the ground. With a thud, Kame drops to the ground himself, and rubs his chest. The big blue rabbit had a mean kick.

“Don't move,” Jin whispers, and Kame suddenly realises that they are not alone.  
Following Jin's line of sight he sees it, a huge tabby cat. If a tabby cat can be purple and green. Five metres tall. With orange eyes. It's gaze seems to be fixed on the rabbit, and Jin and Kame do their best to blend into the background as silent statues.

The rabbit twitches it's nose once more, then takes off across the grass, powerful hind legs thumping against the ground. With a warning growl, the cat takes off in pursuit, streaking across the grass in front of them. Within seconds they are out of sight, leaving behind no trace of their presence.

Jin helps Kame up. “Are you hurt?” he asks quietly.

Kame takes a deep breath and starts to cough. “It might have bruised a rib,” he admits weakly. “Damn rabbit had a great kick.”

“It would need to if it hopes to outrun that cat.” Jin pauses. “It was a cat right? A five metre tall cat? Purple and green tabby?”

“It was,” Kame confirms. “That happened.”

“So... maybe there are dinosaurs?” Jin jokes weakly.

“No dinosaurs,” Kame says flatly. “I could not cope with dinosaurs today. Plus we had Godzilla yesterday.”

A flash of lightning, and then a rumble of thunder interrupts them. “Let's move,” Jin says. “As quick as we can.”

Together they make it down towards the sand dunes, using the metal hull of the _Dreamcatcher_ as their point of reference. The rain comes in suddenly, cold and hard, drenching them in seconds. Kame is breathing heavily, and Jin slips an arm around his shoulders to take some of his weight. If they lose each other out here in the rain, it could take hours to find each other again. The rain drowns out any sound, they can't even talk to each other over the roaring. They struggle along, sliding as the ground turns treacherous.

“There!” Jin yells as loud as he can at Kame, pointing towards the tent. It's still standing, and for once Jin loves the company for at least making sure the emergency equipment is top of the line. It may look like a simple tent, but the outdoor habitats are designed to withstand a typhoon, a brushfire, an earthquake or a landslide. This storm was apparently not a challenge.

Jin opens the zipped flap, and bundles Kame inside, then fights to zip the flap closed. Inside it's cool, and Jin grabs a towel and tosses it to Kame. He yanks off his boots, strips off his own clothes and towels off quickly, feeling the warmth come back, tingling across his skin. He roughly dries his hair, and turns to Kame who has struggled out of his boots, but is now having trouble with his tshirt. 

Jin helps him pull it off, then grabs the waistband of Kame's soaked pants, peeling them down his legs and helping him kick them away. He wraps a towel around Kame's top half, like a cloak, and rubs it up and down, over his back and shoulders and arms. Kame dabs at his chest, wincing, and Jin guesses that he is still feeling the kick from the rabbit.

Jin kneels and quickly runs his towel over Kame's legs and feet, over his hips, drying him as thoroughly as he can, while Kame finishes his torso. 

“OK?” Jin asks.

“I think I need to sit down,” Kame wheezes, and Jin helps him sit on the mattress, pulls the sleeping bag over his legs, wraps him again in a towel, and gently starts to dry his hair. Kame sits huddled under the towel, breath rattling and finally Jin tosses his towel aside, and gently parts Kame's towel to look at his chest.

“Fuck,” Jin swears and Kame looks down to see what is wrong. He has a huge angry red mark across his chest, starting from just above his belly button and ending near his shoulder. “No wonder you are wheezing.” Jin pulls the towel from around Kame's shoulders and gently dabs along the bruise to make sure it's dry. Kame winces, and Jin does too in sympathy. “Any stabbing pains? Or just a dull ache?”

“I can't tell. It all just hurts.”

Jin leaves Kame shivering on the mattress, and gets the scanner from the bag. “Let me check?” Kame tries to hold still while the scanner examines his chest, but a sudden coughing fit overtakes him. Jin drops the scanner, and holds Kame against him, keeping him upright and holding him as still as possible.

“Ok?” he asks.

Kame nods.

Jin grabs the scanner and they check the screen. No broken bones, no cracks in the ribs, extensive bruising and tissue damage– ouch. “You were lucky, that could easily have broken some ribs or ruptured your liver.”

“Not feeling so lucky right now,” Kame jokes, and Jin runs his hands down his arms, feeling cold clammy skin.

“We need to get you warmed up, and get you some pain killers.” He turns to rummage through the bag again, this time pulling out the medical kit. “Here, these should help with the pain.”

He passes four tablets to Kame who swallows them whole, without waiting for water.  
“Cold,” he says, body and voice both shivering.

“Ok,” Jin says and unzips his own sleeping bag to form a blanket. “Move over for a second?”

Kame shuffles to the side, and Jin pulls Kame's sleeping bag away from his legs. Jin climbs into it, then holds it open for Kame. “Come on.”

Kame crawls towards him, and Jin holds the sleeping bag steady. With a little shuffling, punctuated by Kame wheezing, they end up with Jin on his back and Kame curled around his side, Kame having decided that was the least painful place for him. Jin pulls the other sleeping bag over them as a blanket, then wraps both arms around Kame.

“Let's get you warm.” He gently rubs Kame's arms and back and Kame buries his face in Jin's neck. Slowly Kame inches his leg over Jin, tangling their feet together as he shivers.

“Is it cold or shock do you think?” Jin asks, as he methodically rubs over as much of Kame's body as he can reach. 

“A bit of both?” Kame replies.

“At least you didn't hit your head, so no need to worry about a concussion injury,” Jin thinks out loud. “If it is shock, we need to get you warm, if it's the start of hypothermia we need to get you warm. I can't think of any other way.”

“Shared body heat is the best way,” Kame mumbles.

“Well we have that on lock. We are not going anywhere.”

“Good. Don't want to move. Don't think I can move,” Kame mumbles and hooks his arm around Jin's neck.

“I think it's working.” Jin is almost sure that Kame is shivering less, and he thinks that he's getting warmer. Slowly. His skin isn't as chilled as before – ok yep his feet are still freezing, but Kame is definitely shivering less, even if his feet...and yep.. his nose are still cold.

It takes a good hour for Kame to feel warm, and by the end of it, Jin's palms are numb from rubbing his back and arms. Finally Kame nuzzles his nose against Jin's throat and says, “I think it worked.”

“How's your chest? Any stabbing pain?”

“No. I think it's just going to be bruised and breathing is going to be a problem for a while.”

Jin sighs in relief, and absent-mindedly pats Kame's shoulder, rubbing his thumb over the shoulder blade. “What's the best way of treating it? If you haven't cracked any ribs, should we bandage it? Strap it up so you can't bend? What do you think?”

“At the moment, just thinking about bandaging it sounds like torture,” Kame admits. “Wait and see?”

Jin laughs and pets his hair. “Fine with me. I'm just glad you are ok.”

“Me too.”

Kame waits, lets Jin pet his hair and his cheek and his shoulders, like he is reassuring himself that he is actually ok. Finally, he mutters, “Jin, I'm ok.”

“I know,” Jin whispers back.

Kame looks at him, at his his jaw and his half closed eyes and feels the way his hands are caressing his skin. Kame decides its time to jump.

“There is one way you could make me feel better.”

“What?” Jin asks instantly.

“Kiss it better?” Kame asks, with a slightly wicked smile that Jin misses completely because he is too busy wriggling down inside the sleeping bag to press his suddenly dry lips against the warm skin over Kame's heart.

Kame waits until his face is level with his, then stops him with a hand curled around the back of his neck. “What else will do you do on demand?” he asks, a cheeky smile curving his lips.

Jin swallows. “Was that a signal? Did I screw up a signal?”

Kame tilts his head slightly to the side, and Jin grins as he sees the way Kame nervously licks his lips. “We are naked, sharing a sleeping bag. Don't worry. It was a signal.”

“Thank goodness.” Jin leans in and presses his lips against Kame's gently, softly, bearing in mind that Kame is actually hurt.

Kame's hand slips to cradle Jin's cheek, stroking softly along his jawline. Jin strokes his tongue over Kame's bottom lip, and Kame parts his lips happily, deepening the kiss.

Jin strokes his tongue against Kame's, gently, playfully, coaxing him to return the favour, and Kame rises to the challenge, stroking his own tongue gently over Jin's lips and into his mouth. Kame pulls him closer, his mouth demanding, and Jin softens the kiss, nipping playfully at Kame's lip, because he can feel Kame is starting to struggle for breath.

As Kame wheezes, Jin presses gentle soothing kisses across his cheek. “Better?” 

Kame nods, a little breathless. “Damn rabbit.”

Jin laughs, and strokes his hair softly as Kame rests his forehead against his jawline. Jin presses another kiss against his temple. “Tired?”

“No,” Kame denies, as he stifles a yawn.

“Goodnight kiss?”

Kame tilts his head back, and Jin cradles his neck gently as he kisses him softly.  
“That could be addictive,” he says. 

“Good,” says Kame. “If I sleep better because you cuddle me like a teddy bear each night, it's only fair you get hooked on kissing me.”

Jin chuckles quietly, as Kame's eyes sag closed and he nuzzles into Jin's neck. “Sleep well, Kazuya.” Jin thinks that Kame smiles at the way he says his name.

**

“Are they awake yet?” Julie asks.

Jin's eyes snap open, and the machines monitoring his heart rate and brain wave patterns start sounding alerts as he awakens. His eyes search the room, grey roof over him, white curtains, hospital bed, green scrubs... Kame, where was Kame?

“Calm down, Akanishi, everything is fine.” Julie's face is suddenly in his line of sight, and she's talking to him. How could everything be fine? Where was Kame? How was he here, this made no sense.

Julie grabs his hand, and steps to the side. “Kamenashi is right here beside you in the other bed.”

“Is he ok?” Jin croaks, his voice raw and creaky with disuse.

“He's fine,” Julie answers. “Why wouldn't he be?”

“He got kicked in the chest by a rabbit.”

Julie turns to Doctor Nagase, who shrugs. “The drugs we use are very potent, there's no predicting what their shared consciousness will create.”

Jin struggles to sit up, shaking of Julie's attempts to keep him in the bed. He can see Kame now, lying still in the bed next to him, covered by a white sheet and surrounded by monitors. “Why isn't he awake? Kame? Kame!”

Kame doesn't stir, and Jin pushes between Julie and the doctor to get to Kame's bedside. Or he tries to, but his legs won't work properly, and he's still half lying on his bed. It's enough to reach Kame's hand though, and Jin clutches it with all of his strength. “Kame!” he calls again.

“Still no response,” Doctor Nagase mutters to Julie. “If he's not back with us in the next thirty seconds, he may fall into a coma.”

“Wake up!” Jin has no real idea what is happening, but all he knows for sure is that if he is awake and having to deal with this, he wants Kame awake and by his side as well. “Kame! Kazuya!”

Kame's eyes snap, open and his hand clutches Jin's. Jin sees his head turning, sees the confusion, and feels the way he relaxes when he realises that Jin is holding his hand. Whatever is going on, they are now both here for it.

“Good. You are both awake?” Julie looks pleased. “I am very proud of your both. Congratulations you both completed the mission. Well done.”

“We did?” Kame asks, his voice raw and Jin just knows that something is terribly wrong here.

“How did we get back here?” Jin demands. “How did you get us off the planet? Why can't I remember?”

“You never left the Sorafune,” Julie explains. Kame's fingers find Jin's and he laces them together. Something is very wrong. This is all wrong.

“What do you mean?” Kame asks.

“You never left the Sorafune,” Julie repeats. “There was no mission, there was no green planet, there was no flight. You never left the Sorafune.”

“That's impossible,” Jin mutters. “We were there.”

“You entered the _Dreamcatcher_ and the _Starry_ , and at that point each ship was filled with Morpheus gas to make you sleep. You were then brought here, and put under a special sleep regimen at Johnny's request.”

“Why?” Kame demands.

“Johnny wanted to know if you were ready to become the next company team. He wants the two of you to create a special team, a two member team, and he decided you were the best candidates, but he wanted to be sure. He decided on the test. It had nothing to do with me.”

“It was real,” Kame argues, and Julie shakes her head.

“I know you think that,” Doctor Nagase says, “but I assure you that you haven't left the Sorafune. You have been here in my sick bay the entire time, and everything that happened was created by your own minds in a shared consciousness state. Everything you said, heard, felt, experienced, it did not happen in the real world.”

Kame yanks on Jin's hand and Jin struggles to get out of bed, stumbles across the distance between them. Kame fights to sit up, to look at his chest, and Jin realises what he is looking for. Jin lets go, helps Kame pull the neckline of his hospital gown down, and the only thing they can see is clear, soft, unmarked skin.

No bruise.

No swelling.

Just pale skin.

“No bruise,” Jin mutters and lifts his gaze to Kame's face. “It happened,” he says and Kame nods.

“I'm sorry,” Nagase says. “It didn't.”

“The fire,” Kame mutters.

“The lake.”

“The rabbit.”

“The cat.”

“Even the coconut oil. Was none of it real?” Kame asks.

Jin sits on Kame's bed, and Kame's hand sneaks back into his, hidden by the blankets.

“No matter,” Julie says. “Whatever happened in your dream states is your business. i don't require you to be debriefed on that, as it was entirely your subconscious at work, so you had no control over anything as far as I am concerned. Johnny insisted you be given the test, and I have done so. I deem you to have passed it, and if Johnny requires further information then we will deal with it when that time comes.”

Jin and Kame stare at her, numb, no visible reaction showing.

“Congratulations. You are our newest team. You will be called Kizuna. You are partners, neither of you will be the leader. You are no longer team leaders for Emerald or Murasaki, but -” Julie pauses and smiles, a rueful genuine smile, “I will honour your request from our briefing session and ensure that team leaders are involved in any discussion about changing team members. If it is decided that Team Kizuna will acquire additional members, I will involve you in the discussions.”

Julie smiles at both of them, and claps her hands quickly. “I am proud of both of you. You have until the end of the week before I give you a new mission. Enjoy the downtime.” She claps again, and walks out of the sick bay, heels ringing as they strike the metal floor.

Nagase pauses by Jin's bed. “The dream state was powered by your subconscious minds working together.” He looks pointedly at their joined hands. “Although it wasn't real, anything that happened came from the two of you. Do you understand?”

“I think so,” Kame says.

“If I wanted something subconsciously, I could make it happen?” Jin asks. 

“No,” Nagase says. “Let's be clear. Your subconscious could not dictate terms, or make things happen. It could suggest, and if Kame's subconscious was in agreement or if it matched something it wanted to suggest, together that was what sparked a change to the event. How you handled it in the dream state was the two of you working together. Neither of you forced anything onto the other one.”

Jin nods, relief flooding his mind.

“I want to keep you in here for another 24 hours, just to monitor you. You are both perfectly healthy, I am just taking the precaution.” Nagase says. “Which means you will be monitored, so assume people are watching you” he says with a pointed look at the machines and the camera in the corner. He grins at them. “Congratulations Team Kizuna. Well done. Welcome to the next level of the company.”

Jin and Kame sit together silently as he leaves, still holding hands, and now looking at each other.

“It was real,” Jin says. “I don't care what they say, it wasn't fake, it felt real.”

“It can't have been real.”

“It was real,” Jin replies stubbornly.

“Even if it wasn't,” Kame says, “even if it wasn't...” Kame looks up at Jin, and licks his lips nervously. “Jin?”

“Yes?”

“If I give you a signal, what will you do?”

“Anything you ask?”

Kame uses their joined hands as leverage to pull himself up and Jin pulls him close against his chest. “When we aren't being monitored will you kiss me?”

“Yes,” Jin whispers back. “Whenever you ask, where ever you ask, how ever you ask.”

“Then it was real,” Kame whispers, “Nagase is right. If our subconscious wanted it, it found a way to make it possible to happen. Together.”

“You're right,” Jin sighs in relief. “I thought maybe I had somehow made things happen, because everything turned out the way I wanted,” Jin admits. “You remembering Okinawa, you giving me signals, I thought maybe it was me.”

“It wasn't,” Kame assures Jin. “Believe me, everything we did was because I wanted it to happen as well. Apart from the Godzilla chasing. And the rabbit kicking.” 

Jin chuckles and they sit together quietly for a moment, “I just realised, we have never really gone out on a mission together.”

“From now on, we will go out on every mission together.” Kame smiles at him, eyes shining bright. “I think I like the sound of it.”

“I'm glad,” Jin responds, “because if your subconscious response to me being in danger is to sacrifice yourself by flying your ship into an asteroid, we need to have a serious talk.”

Kame laughs, and whispers into Jin's ear, “You convinced me to jump out of an exploding plane. How is that having concern for my life?”

They laugh together quietly, and Kame tugs Jin down to lie beside him on the bed. “I'll need you here to sleep,” he says, taking Jin's arms and wrapping them around himself.

“Can I call you teddy bear?”

Kame glares.

“Teddy-chan?”

Kame glares harder.

“How about Kazuya?” Jin whispers and places a discreet kiss behind Kame's ear.

“That would be acceptable for now,” Kame agrees. “What do I get to call you?”

“Jin?”

“Hmmm.” Kame shoots a sleepy glance at Jin from under his eye lashes. “Give me time, I'm sure I'll think of something appropriate.”

“If we are still here when we wake up,” Jin mumbles. “What if we wake up and we are back on the dinosaur planet?”

“Then we have privacy?” Kame says, with a little suggestive wriggle.

“I'm now voting for the dinosaur planet.”

“Don't worry,” Kame says sleepily, snuggling closer to Jin. “Either on the dinosaur planet or on the Sorafune, the next thing we are doing is finding somewhere private for …. team discussions.”

Jin laughs, as Kame had intended, and together they drift off to sleep, knowing that their future will be together, as they think it should be.


End file.
